According to the official report the case was treated not as a criminal offense, but as a landlord-tenant dispute.What makes the case especially alarming is the organized nature of the scam.According to Spotlight on Maryland, several houses across Baltimore County have been fraudulently listed by users promoting 'last resort' homes on social media platforms.'

While there's no shortage of options out there,as you mentioned, such as PropStream, DealCheck, REI Simpli, and Podio, the aim is to stand out by honing in on what really matters to investors: ROI, value, performance, efficiency, and possibly price.Expanding on what matters as outlined earlier, here are my assumptions regarding what investors might require if I were to launch a product today:User-Friendly Experience: A platform that feels like second nature to real estate investors, with intuitive design and features that make life easier.All-in-One Solutions: A toolbox stacked with everything necessary for successful investing—from finding leads to analyzing deals and managing properties.Seamless Integration: Make workflow smoother by seamlessly connecting with other essential tools and platforms you rely on.Insightful Analytics: Next-level decision-making with advanced analytics and data visualization that help you optimize investment strategies.Now, the challenge lies in the fact that every investor is unique, and the features might be excessive if they don't offer genuine value.

Real estate is definitely an adventure, and with 20 years of experience, success will come naturally!. 

The North Georgia mountains sound like a great market for short-term rentals—especially with all the tourism and natural attractions in that area.Since you're high-income W-2 earners, definitely look into how short-term rentals can qualify for material participation to help offset your active income—especially if one of you is willing to take the lead on managing it.

What I’m looking for - Buy and hold property- Long term tenants (ideally vacant at purchase) - Single family home - Class B to A (likely B for more cash flow opportunity) neighborhood - Opportunity to add value so am more than open to rehab - Cash flow as primary focus- An area with comparatively low risk of natural disaster - Of course somewhere with growing population and jobs and less than average crime.

That's not to say you don't know what you're doing -- naturally, we don't know here the particulars of what you've got going on.

If this is your first transaction of this exact nature, maybe a test run of one house would be wise.

It doesn’t change the nature of rental income for self-employment tax purposes.If your accountant is insisting that being a REP means filing rental income on Schedule C and paying SE tax, that’s a misinterpretation of the tax code.

You are naturally smarter than most but also may be not much of an outside the box thinker. 

The bigger question is around the nature of the deal.