Since we are from San Diego, it's hard to have my finger on the pulse of what's best in FL.

Sorry, my fingers are getting tired, this certainly isn't everything, but the main points to consider.

This will give you a lot more feedback from all departments that like to get their fingers into it.If the improvements require a lot of money to resolve, it could be a negotiating chip for getting a better deal from the seller, so don't get discouraged.Read through your title report documents and make sure there's no agreements that could be affected by your plans for the property.

Might even be able to keep rehab under 6k - fingers crossed...preciate all your guys' input - this is what keeps me going.Best of luck to you all.Vince

Now my end goal; I want to put my fingers in everything I can.

Fingers crossed that everything goes well in the next few weeks.

We finally took a picture of us standing in rental giving him the "one finger salute"! 

Fingers crossed!

In all of our properties, when mold appeared it was because the tenant had not called us about a water leak, or created too much moisture and didn't use the ventilation fans as they should have, or did not use the heating system properly, or kept an unclean home. 

Sounds like your lender screwed up royally... and unfortunately you hired them so pointing fingers won't fix much other than perhaps buying you time.