I have been able to find 5-10% CoC ROI on these assets in some states but it just feels wrong lowering my standards (15% CoC ROI).

To negotiate, I leveraged the property's need for renovation as a key point, highlighting the costs and effort required to bring it up to market standards.

Consider requiring a higher standard for pet owners.

The industry standard is a 5%-4%-3%-2%-1% step down.

They're just going to fix stuff, that either didn't meet local code, or missed their "standard" building practice. 

Depending on the lender and the product if it is non-comforming you may not need to wait that time and you may not receive a LE or CD, but still most lenders will have it as a standard practice to be safe.

and, have good, to very good, vetted property teams in different metros, and detailed quality standards.

Say for example the standard commission for a new tenant is 6% with half going to your agent and half the tenants agent then that would be 3% going to the tenant agent.

A deposit is standard for DD and maybe to pay for the appraisal.  

Getting a new roof is important for ensuring that the property meets the standards required by most loan programs.