I work for the US Coast Guard in the San Francisco Bay Area and my wife and I are looking for a house that we can buy with the option to rent out when we move. We have been looking from Santa Rosa to Fairfield California and the surrounding areas. 

We have been approved for 650,000 but unless it has a second unit that can help pay down the mortgage we don't want to pay more than about 2500 a month so around 400,000 has been our price point.

My wife and I got pre-approved for a VA loan a month ago and have been working with an Agent from Redfin. She is great and my wife loves her because she is so friendly! However, it seems that whenever we want to try and make a property work she says it won't work with a VA loan. Is there no way to purchase a property that needs repairs with a VA loan?

We had found one that could possibly work but the agent didn't seem to understand how a VA loan worked when we wanted to offer 0 % down. So we waited 3 days over a weekend to talk to the loan officer to make sure that what I wanted to do(put 1% down for earnest money and roll the closing fees into the loan) was possible however, when the loan officer finally said it was alright, we tried to put in the offer and found out the seller had accepted another offer that day.

Am I just trying to do things with a VA loan that aren't possible?

Or should I find a new agent and if so how is the best way to tell her?

Does anyone recommend a good buyers agent that works in the north and east bay that has worked with Investors and VA loans?

Any advice including constructive criticism is welcome.

Thanks in Advance!