This is essentially a buffer for error/reduced demand/the unknown.

Then the more they learn and struggle the less shiny it gets, until all of a sudden they see something shinier and more unknown and they jump to that. 

My back-of-the-napkin rehab estimate is as follows:Drywall: $20,000Flooring: $18,500Windows: $17,000Bathrooms: $16,000Roof: $12,000Siding: $10,000Paint: $9,000Cabinets: $8,500Appliances: $8,000HVAC: $7,000Doors: $5,000Counters: $4,000Contingency: $15,000Total: $150,000Obviously, there are wayyy too many unknowns to accurately estimate rehab off of just a few pictures (e.g., what's the status of plumbing, electrical, any structural issues, etc.). 

They want to sell the corporation to avoid this and only pay the cap gains, my attorney says no way (liability from unknowns, and we deal with the same when we want to sell)..There must be a way to navigate this and only sell the asset???

The amount of things that can go wrong are too many to count, especially when you have unknown unknownsI think whether you are doing it yourself or not should be determined by the size of the project.

this opens doors and de-escalates.For example, if the homeowner is female and is alone, she most likely won't answer the door to a unknown male outside. 

I could still account for this, but it just throws a lot of extra unknown into an ARV estimate.SO... should I pursue slightly more creative financing to make a winning offer and pursue this in earnest?

We are running into financing issues with our bank because there’s no slab & it’s not anchored, in addition to the original size being unknown.

There is certainly a lot of "unknowns" and the old adage, "You can't go broke taking profit" certainly seems to be playing a factor. 

Even though it's a fake show, the premise is that a motivated seller agrees to sell something NOW for less than the market value they are told it is worth.Real estate can be the same way, some sellers will always accept less cash NOW rather than wait an unknown amount of time to get the highest value.So, a good wholesaler doesn't have to steal equity from a seller, they can just offer a quick close for an under market price.