Building from scratch there has to be a lot of meat on the bone to justify the risk.I know people now that are buying for holds only that use to develop because they are tired of the personal guarantees with millions to tens of millions on the line.

My wife and I both like the location and the style of the house.It needs a lot of cosmetic work but has good bones. 

Sounds like the seller may have got a good cash offer also and is trying to get more out of you to justify the finance deal, maybe your offer is a little higher but the cash deal has no contingencies.Removing an Inspection contingency can really come back to bite you..Throw them a bone, If it were me, I would say yes to it but that I want to inspect myself, then put on the jumpsuit, crawl under the house with a big flashlight, bring a ladder and get on the roof.If it's a good deal and you can afford to pay cash then remove financing but each deal and investor has their own unique circumstances that may not make it feasible..

I would have one as a pretty much bare bones unit and the other with some added "wow factor" items that would command higher rents and increase interest. 

However, my poor 80 year old mother fell (and she couldn't get up) and broke some bones and she is in the hospital but we have to move her to an assisted living place from her condo.

But you don't want to bare bones it or let the place look ugly so that tenants won't find it appealing. 

(i.e. cash flow, occupancy, tenant quality, condition of the property, expenses, etc.)The property might even need to have more meat on the bones if you finance everything they let you include the funding fee.

Unless I anticipated HIGH grown with a long term flip as the exit, there isn't enough meet on the bones for me.

For example, in a recent article titled "What It's Actually Like To Buy A $500 House In Detroit", the author estimated that rehab costs in Detroit average $75–$100 per square foot, and that's just for bare-bones repairs, it doesn't include anything structural like a roof or foundation.

But I would say that the bare bones of my long term goals would be to gain equity in my house, and invest in duplexes in the future.