I am working with a client down in Jacksonville in restoring her credit and I may be buying a house down there and have her do a rent to own with me while we take her thru the process.

What I did was left if in place, made sure it was well dried (I was not in a rush to cover it, as it too many months to get power restored to the area), and treated it for mold.  

why wouldn't you just leverage the 2 houses for the rest? Or

If the cost to restore the property exceeds their deposit, you send them a bill.

So a little bit about what we do is we work hand In hand wIth home rehabIlItators In the area that specialize in finding and restoring homes.

Also, is it best to just take out enough for the down payment and repairs and let a bank handle the rest or buy more equity using the heloc money to hopefully get more monthly cash flow from the rental to pay down the heloc?

Desirable neighborhood alll restored Bungalows (including this one) I mean there are about a thousand of them, block after block ....any ways everyone love it everybody raves about it yet no sale.

For example, we have reviewed restoration bids where they tried to charge more for usage of equipment such as air scrubbers or dehumidifiers than those units cost new. 

Thanks guys, the input is appreciated, I'm wondering, generally, do electricians and fire restoration company's charge for an inspection?

Bank will loan funds to renovate...20K can turn into 40K easily with leverage and a good eye for deals..Research, Prepare, Inspect, Buy, Restore, Resell...Repeat...