Hard money lenders have a good amount of flex when it comes to FICO score and typically the main issue that borrowers with low FICO's have is that their max loan size gets cut which doesn't seem to be an issue here.

Mind you, she used a legal aid attorney, so he didn’t cost her anything.

Cost is $1000. 

I'm looking at monthly cost to seller vs. anticipated rental income, purchase price relevant to the ARV of the area and interest rate, balloon, etc.

Although the list may seem intensive, I look at it like this: The total cost of all these items can be much lower than the cost to repair a hidden surprise after purchasing a property to flip. 

Selling means giving up an incredibly cheap cost of capital, especially in an appreciating area like 28277.I direct my investors to 28277 all the time for appreciation-focused plays.

Most my clients do conventional and some creative options for a bit extra financing if needed, saves a lot on fees/financing costs this way.  

Agents are also advising you to look for expensive mistakes (like checking the sewer which could cost 5-40k) and using their network and contacts to find homes off market or FSBO.  

So if I do a good analysis of the property (including all the costs) and the property generates monthly CF with a DSCR above 1.1, I would be removing a big risk because the numbers add up.

Again I cannot collect rent to justify this cost/effort.