I have strong credit and would be able cover the costs in the case the rental situation doesn't come to fruition, however where I am hung up is #1 - comping out properties in these more rural areas where there is lower volume and inventory to compare on a $/sqft basis let alone if the information is available and #2 - the majority of the properties I am looking at are older (built 1960s-1980s) some have cosmetic renovations but likely still old bones..this brings me to the my final point is building your 'team' I how have others found reliable inspectors, handymen, emergency services contractors, even cleaners for rental properties?

At the moment I'm working on a new-built project (a largish urban apartment building) that has small units but devotes significant valuable space to indoor and outdoor common areas. 

I paid 200,000 for a property currently worth 206,000 at best and needs about 6,000 in repairs to be rent ready so essentially I've built a situation where the only profitable outcome is to hold.

We have fixed multiple areas of the house including electrical, plumbing, added washers and dryers, added solar powered security lights, built an office, built a patio which increased the value of the house.

Egressed a basement window to code, expanded master bedroom, built island, added dishwasher, added new washer/dryer set, sewer repair, new electrical box.

I am seeing more and more pop up with a little separate income sweet already built in on the first floor that make a perfect little airbnb.When it comes to investor friendly lending, I would start with Troy Howell at Nova, Joe Massey at Castle and Cooke (I used him for both of my HH's) and Jessica Castillo at Bank of America (their grant program is excellent!).

As-built surveys12.

For a seller yes, because if the day comes the tenant cant make payments then the owner can break the deal and keep the equity that was built while the tenant was paying rent. 

I've received 3 quotes to correct this problem, this will cost $11k-$15k to fix (they will basically drill small holes at the bottom of the basement to allow the built-up water behind the wall come into the basement, and then create a trench in the basement along the wall so the water goes to a sump pit, and then let the sump pump pump the water out of the basement to the backyard away from the house...)The next large issue is my 2 door garage openers can only be operated manually due to previous owner damage, and after 4-5 quotes, due to some other complications with the garage area design, the manual operation seems the most practical now due to cost and other limitations if I attempted to try to get it fixed.So my concern with the sump pump is, I do not think many people have those in my area, and if I were to sell the house in the future, it may be a potential reason some un-educated buyers may decide not to buy the home if they see one in the basement.

There are several pockets of the city that offer tax incentives, as well as some rapid development immediately surrounding down town that is pushing rents and price appreciation in a very promising way.