I hired a litigator to review my position, and they concluded that we had a very strong case.

If that’s your question then the answer is because the seller may not have the knowledge, experience, time, ability, energy, to successfully conclude the transaction without “help”.  

What makes me conclude that this is a scam.

As an international investor, I had a look at investing there but stayed away as I concluded that it's more of a lifestyle market than an investment market.

For example, a study may conclude that 15 percent of a building’s electrical system directly supports § 1245 property, such as specialized kitchen equipment.

Should the address differ from the Secretary of State's office or the payee not be a recognized government entity, I can usually conclude that the filing requirement is illegitimate.Furthermore, these deceptive flyers may employ other tactics to appear credible.

After researching the basics, I am looking forward to understanding the realistic steps in concluding a first deal.

This is a small part of negotiation, and successful negotiations can be concluded without ever knowing the buyers “psyche”.  

More than just “leaving money on the table”, people who are inexperienced, lack knowledge, or just plain lousy at negotiating don’t even realize  when they lose a deal that could have been concluded by their incompetence.  

After joining a Facebook group for local STR owners, and talking to all the major PMs in the area, I concluded that in the time vs money war, I was going with this particular PM.