You get as much objective information about them so that you can make an informed decision. 2.

It is the seller's decision to sign or not.  

Pivoted to a new market for my 3rd property where the entry price is low but revenue is moderate, average listing quality is poor, and occupancy seems steady year-round.

I would look at the value of the rentals before you make a decision to see if that makes sense for you.Regarding the furnishings, if you have to pay more for them (again here in FL, properties are generally listed fully furnished and you don't really get a discount to tell people to take the crap out - in fact, I had one guy refuse a good offer because one of my conditions was for them to take their crap!  

There are a lot of poor operators out there but there's also a lot of good ones.

So it crushed us cashflow wise because we couldn't finance anything and all of a sudden I'm too asset heavy and cash poor.

They're shady builders with poor quality construction.

@Chris Kay beleive you can do DSR loans without a job as they qualify the property, not the borrower.You'd still need 20-25% down though.That's where you have a decision:- Pay down the mortgage, setting yourself up for a future refinance to free up your VA Entitlement.OR- Save up for your next acquisition.Only YOU can make that decision as you have to be comfortable with the increasing debt-load risk and the additional time to manage everything.

This was my first property, and while it's been a great learning experience, I made several mistakes along the way—ranging from choosing a realtor who was more focused on closing the deal than finding the right house, to having a poor inspection and overlooking issues hidden beneath the surface (literally).

I don't think I can see and downside to this decision.2.