I'm trying to quantify in numbers to assist in decision making. 

Ask if they are having any move-in specials to quantify the supply/demand in the market.

I agree that people that want change in Dodd Frank should state their case with reason and facts.Down payments for Home ownership in Canada is 10 percent or more, UK, New Zealand and Australia are all 10 per cent or more.I wish there were some kind of national underwriting supervised by the government the someone's ability to repay could be quantified, there are 800 pages and Dodd Frank just for the ability to repay rules.And seller financing could be done by homeowners without these Draconian penalties  of -36 months of payments plus -down payment plus lawyers fees plus -court costswhich is intimidating any home seller from looking up so if financing, including rrap estate agents.Seller carry backs with reasonable underwriting and no Draconian penalties should be allowed as an exception to Dodd Frank.

In short, it's THE most desirable place to live in the country for most people.Other than that, there are so many factors that make one place more popular than another that's almost impossible to quantify.

They can also quantify the costs to correct the defects, and they might even find stuff that the inspectors didn't find.If you have your purchase contract written with an inspection contingency clause, you can back out of the deal if the problems cost more than you budgeted for rehab.

So my question is, has anyone ever considered how to potentially quantify risk (determine beta) for a flip company?

To be frank you can't quantify exactly how much better you will do as tenants rent properties, not spreadsheets and tenants do not read your spreadsheets.However, Lakewood is nicer than Cleveland.

Is there any way to quantify how much of a discount I might be able to purchase properties at if offering the cash/quick closing terms?

I don't doubt you, but has this ever been quantified?

We did some soul searching and identified the following factors in a deal but we don't have a great handle on quantifying them: Cash - That’s a relatively easy thing to value.