It is a no brainer for them, and that is why they are doing it.When they knock on the door using the advertising violations as their entree, their main meal could easily be compliance violations tied to retailing or seller finance.

What about overhead not tied to a specific project?

Solid reserves, meaning if that 25 hours/week becomes 15 hours/week for a few months you'd still be able to make the payment (believe it or not, this sometimes means that 5% down is stronger than 10% down because it means I can point to that 5% you are keeping in your pocket and say "reserves!"). 

As suggested, focus on what the rest of the credit report tells you regarding history of collections, accounts 60 and 90 days overdue and just how much of this applicants funds are tied up in financial obligations (car loans, student loans, etc.)

You have a concrete slab settlement issue that most like tied to a foundation issue as well.

Take care of your tenants by offering extra perks that others don't offer...like washer/dryer, Wi-Fi, small grid-tie solar system.

It's simply not fair to the seller for you to tie up the property for a month with no compensation if you back out last minute.The amount of money considered "fair" for earnest money depends on the area, the market, and the seller. 

As I've seen elsewhere, and some wholesale hater is likely to point out, I don't want to tie up the property the last month before foreclosure and give the seller no other options.  

How can he get the property under contract (tie it up) so that no one else is able to purchase it while he gets the remaining cash together?  

The earlier you can start analyzing and crunching numbers the stronger you will be.Good luck and you are in a GREAT market for flips!