Did you finance this deal with a local bank or credit union?

Thats good to hear it is resolved and sorry about the credit.

My father is a contractor so we will be able to complete most of the work ourselves while keeping costs low and add equity.

Multiple people had some bad things to say about the area, but when I moved and realized that it was a low income area with a lot of homeowners, I was motivated to improve the property to match the effort my neighbors have put in. 

It was a personal referral, received a credit at closing for renovations as well How did you finance this deal?

They said that was too low for them, so I offered $175,000 and they accepted. 

No Bank, Credit Union or Portfolio lender wants to foreclose on any loan if there is a way not to.

We both have good credit but my lender made it seem like there was no getting around putting less than 25% down on an investment property.

I've been reading more about subject to and here's what I've learned:-Good for sellers who are off market-Have low to no equity-Have a mortgage with a low interest rate (less than 5%)-Be absentee or out of state (vacant property, or have a tenant)The buyer would then take over the mortgage payments, and have the seller sign the deed over to the buyer.

Even more than credit, the more experience and capital you have, the more aggressive a lender is going to be.