For what it's worth I wasn't implying she pick the appraisal, rather when she gets an objection from whoever and they say no we can't do it that fast, she can say will company a,b,c are all free this week what will it take to make this happen.

In no way was I implying the tenants of these properties were bad people, simply that when I tour the property and talk to them there are extenuating circumstances and strange deals with the current landlord that have allowed them to modify the property and use it in undesirable ways. 

Just make closing out the permit - which implies final inspection and payment of any resulting costs/fees - a condition of your offer.

I am certainly not implying all mods work out, as this is not the case.

  $100K underwater implies a 28% negative event downturn. 

And the statement about feeling shady implied you were feeling pressured, either internally or externally, to do something you didn't really like.Just my 2cents.Secure funding, either conventional or hard money, then put it under contract.

See my profile for where most of our properties are located but it is the opposite end of San Diego county as IB.My criteria varies but in general we look for the following:Not a landlord headache: This implies not significant parking issues, no older high density living nearby, and ideally detached. 

And also why did Nicole imply work had started when it hadn’t?

People implying that there's something wrong with me when there isn't :D

I have a very simple clause in my lease that says they were given the opportunity to inspect prior to renting and that no promises were made/implied.