I do not plan to buy this one but I am practicing using the tools.  

However, it is not a good practice to get into. 

The broker is there to make sure the licensees do not break any laws while practicing real estate

The following is not a legal opinion (I'm not an attorney) but it is a practical opinion having taken assignment, having assigned contracts, and having purposefully prevented assignments and having heard attorney's opinions on this about 3 or 4 dozen times over the course of my career for real estate contracts in Ohio. 

Anecdotally I have had lenders tell me outright that FHA lending guidelines frown upon this practice more than a conventional loan.A lot of lenders do have 3-5% down conventional loan programs too, so definitely weigh the options and the costs...as well as the potential future tax implications of the decision.

The only thing that helps is practice.

It's just not practical to fly a contractor in.

There’s a reason the government specifically calls out “ rent to own “ in the Dodd frank bill a “ predatory lending practice” Save yourself a huge headache and move along with someone else

Houses are priced similarly, typically a bit cheaper, however the interior is practically new.Thoughts?

In Northern Indiana (Nisource), it used to be 20+ years ago (and I assume its still the case)  you would have to put a deposit down to cover the gas and electric distribution services, and you could get some credit back based on houses going into service with some assumed usage patterns.City run utilities and REMC's would have drastically different practices.