The seller won't know how many plumbing fixtures the buyer's construction contemplates (translation, they won't know the size of the tile field required), nor will they know the preferred location of the tile field - only the buyer knows their preferred footprint and building orientation.

I know its a federal law, but im sure each state has its own nuisances about how things are done and what is swept under the rug so to speak which i expected.

You may sign electronically, or may have a traveling notary come to notarize paperwork and then the note is recorded...and funds are wired into your account.Hard money isn't better in your situation, unless the houses are really rugged. 

Once you do that, being more passive in orientation is a viable strategy.  

You can even try things like area rugs too (but maybe you already have carpet or rugs down).  

Beyond that the standard playbook is to replace the old carpet with vinyl that looks like hardwood, and then add area rugs that you can buy from Walmart or Home Depot (if the current flooring can't be saved).

So the rug looked great, and it was almost available for free, but it covered all the dirt under it? 

Enter Airbnb and all of the sudden we realize there is all this underserved demand for connection-oriented hospitality experiences.

It sounds to me like many cash flow oriented investors would buy 10-15 SFH's or a larger multi unit, and get a decent cash flow.

Generally though, the smaller the bank, the more service oriented they'll be.