It is supremely important that a disinterested third party holds the earnest money.I would go so far as to say this should be a deal breaker if the seller refuses to budge.

Can you get away with a shared 15A or 20A circuit? 

(been only looking at 3/1+ to date)-Is no A/C a deal breaker in the lower rent areas of these cities?

@Michael Frow what are deal breakers with HOA?

It's not necessarily a deal breaker but you will have to do some extra due diligence to make sure the numbers are or can be what you need.

That said, and as another just pointed out, the current condition and look for f the existing cabinets could be the deal breaker on the multi color idea.

Darius Burke So the $145 is including the panel, breakers, wires, knock out caps, ground wires?

So for a $200k property you'll need at least ~$20-25k ($7-8k down payment, $12k for 6 months of PITI, and some $5k for closing costs unless you roll them into the loan, which can be a deal breaker when dealing with lots of competition).

Any general advice about what to look for in a fixer that makes it a deal-breaker?

,If you can look at something where you pay $750/mo HOA (I think this would be a flip or your personal home) I would think a 10k special assesment would not be a deal breaker.