If they end up appreciating a bit, great that can be a bonus, but for the most part I just want solid middle of the road cash flow investments that will be beneficial over time and just want to make sure I don't do something stupid over 6K in the mean time - Pennies wise, pound foolish indeed

@RichardHave you asked your investor what he would like to see as documentation behind your plan?  

http://www.com.state.oh.us/documents/real_Salesper...

That said if you ask enough people you will eventually get a yes but it might not be beneficial for either party involved either...

Hey Peter,Each hard money lender is going to require different documents and criteria.

@Mike Ritter We will definitely take a ton of pictures and videos to document how the house looks before the first tenant moves in.

Most private owners are not going to want to take the risk of financing because the foreclosure process is oftentimes more complex and longer than the eviction process and most do not even want to deal with being a landlord which is why they are selling.That being said, some people are naive enough to take whatever offer comes to them if they have been waiting around long enough and the person making the offer attempts to document why they would make a great person to finance to.I would probably also offer to pay interest (5-10% fixed) and show documentation of work history, rental history, taxes, a handwritten personal letter of interest and motivation for wanting to purchase the house and anything else.

Ideally, you'll want to negotiate all the salient terms of an agreement via informal communication and letters of intent, then bring your attorney in to draft the documentation. 

She is thinking about selling the house while prices are up, but it would be beneficial to do some work on the house to get it up to standard.

You might want to consider simply putting together an Option Contract, so that you actually have a beneficial interest to market, and then exploring some of the more creative options.In my opinion