From my perspective, you are acting responsibly by wanting to have your contractor inspect the property before finalizing the deal.

Quote from @JD Martin: I allow pets in all of my long term rentals but I do not allow them in my STR for the following reasons:Thanks for this perspective, JD.

Here are some quick notes that I can provide from the lender/broker perspective.

Interesting perspective!

Pete,  I live and invest in NE TN and from my perspective it is a great market.

I am currently having an issue with my landlord, and when I searched for the answer the bigger pockets forum was the first to show up so I am posting my question from the perspective of the tentant, but also so when I do buy my first rental I have a better understanding of things.With that being said,I live in an SRO.

Think of it from the PM's perspective: if you were them, would you deal with the headaches of a C or D area (non-paying tenants, trashed properties, crime, etc.) for a 10% cut of a single property that rents for $1100-1800/month?

Which is great from my perspective, but worries me that it is going too high too fast.

The reason for this is that beyond financial analysis - risk and preference of asset classes can be a personal decision; people sharing their stories and journeys becomes a useful perspective. 

From a lender's perspective, we struggle to get good loan officers.