They'll typically leave behind mattresses, couches, broken furniture, rotten food, etc.

Big Banks like Wells Fargo, BOA, Citi, US Bank, and Chase utilize lending programs aimed to service large swaths of depositors.

Also, having a rehab budget already laid out with explanations on how you got the numbers would help and is definitely a plus when I look at deals even though I typically wont use their numbers it at least shows a little more effort. 

Start with a standard offer, and write a contingency into it for electricity, all the below ground utilities, and then work your way to zoning, permitting etc.

Also, be sure to check with the section 8 agency managing the tenants - sometimes if you pass on an additional cost like that they will no longer be eligible to live there if the rent and utilities exceed what they were approved for.

The cons as i see it include loosing the 2 of 5 year cap gain exception, typically not an ideal rental because the emphasis at purchase was buying a good home for your family and not a rental with optimal return (my ex-home consistently has the lowest cash flow for equity in my RE portfolio), not disconnected enough from the property causes addition angst on damage and may result in over improvement.  

DSCR loans typically take 21 days to close.

The profile of the typical Houston traveler is someone coming in for work.

They were fine with my score (about 740), but have issue with the percentage of personal credit I am utilizing, so that discussion also petered out.Apparently, I have a lending profile right now, that is not attractive to mainstream lending programs.Any advice?

I know DSCR lenders typically don't touch them.