It is the same as weight loss.  

Obviously there are other criteria the bank uses, but I'm not well-versed enough to know which are weighted more heavily than others.Perhaps some lenders / bankers can offer some advice? 

A good broker is worth their weight in gold.  

Good luck giving them fair weighting. 

PM are worth their weight in gold.

The 2% rule seems to be intended to protect against long term expenses (carpet, painting, roof, etc) but if the cost of the home is so much larger than the upkeep expenses it should instead get back to a cost per square foot to maintain-- Example 2000sq ft * $3/yr = $6k/yr for maintenance seems much more reasonable then needing to go achieve the $18k/month route to suggest cashflow.

In our screening we heavily weight credit score in the choice. 

If you're busy like we are, the podcasts are worth their weights in gold.

If there are any shared utilities or other items (example, a shared driveway, lawn, septic tank or well that needs maintenance, plowing or other upkeep), this creates another set of issues that could be perceived as self-dealing.  

The foreclosure path is the most expensive path and you can put a lot of weight on that one, i.e., if a foreclosure exit doesn't work, then the deal should not be done.