But if you are well seasoned in the lease option market and you can't make it work in your area then I can understand trying to be more creative rather than using what has already proven to work.

This makes me think that we often don't recognize and appreciate opportunities in front of us and keep looking for something else.

Check all three of your credit bureau reports and dispute anything you don't recognize. 

(ie. borrow against IRA etc...)A refi after a proven seasoning is always easier and if you can "cash out" your initial investment, your long term returns will more than offset the initial low COC returns.

You want something that everyone recognizes as normal.Back to the exterior: you want it to be in obviously good exterior condition and have a fresh coat of paint in a normal color scheme.

I know that this is not a get-rich-quick solution, but a proven strategy that works when implemented with diligent time and effort. 

Grant - Regarding title search, there are online title searches that you can get for less then $50 but recognize that they are not going to do the same level of search.

My main issue in doing this is the knowledge to discover/recognize what a great deal would be.

His worth just hasn't been proven yet.The other's has been, and it didn't turn out well.  

Due to the volume of business we give them we expect priority service and volume pricing.We are trying to get them to take before and after pictures of the job they are doing to be able to upload it in our portal so the owner can see what was done (that has proven to be a bit of a challenge with 3rd party contractors) our in-house maintenance team is required to take pictures and video of any job they do.