I don't think this has to be that complicated.

What have you guys done and also work around to get out of this slump.  

I think they have a well-oiled machine, but they are dealing with alot of volume which can contribute to misses like this.

Most private lenders use this technique to provide financing. 

Two of my good investor borrower clients are dealing with this very situation right now because they chose the lowest bidder. 

The Rehab process is where this model fails 90% of the time, the other 10% it fails because the asset was not worth what the investor thought it would be and they sell at a loss. 

They need to be qualified to your standards to make this a good decision.

If this is a rental, just get something that can be easily replaced and functions.

What amount of cash saved is feasible for this option? 

I've seen this with STRs in Colorado as well.Tenants rights advocates might be happy how Airbnb handles these things (and I'm not a tenant hater, by any means), but I do like the comfort of keeping the deposit in our hands, not the hands of a third-party neutral.