The key is to not have negative cash flow.

If they don't have a positive test, they won't have anything to back up the photos if it tests negative now.

I have made a lot of money in RE and negative cash flow is not a criteria that i typically ponder.  

All cash costs, and negative CF is a loss, must be recovered before you can make a profit. 

If you are buying an SFR for 75k, put 175k into the deal (total cost is 250k) and it appraises for 220k, you are negative 30k before any loans are considered.

You can also sell them on sites like paperstac, debexpert or others as well as brokers like Mission Capital, Rams or Phoenix.Depending on quality of paper and interest rate will determine sales price - also I would say self servicing can have a negative impact on the sales price as the major players in the space are not fond of self servicing. 

This creates a negative initial position.

Eventually we upped the budget to get something we would absolutely love even if it was slightly cash flow negative.

@Nathan Frost  Ironically, I did the majority of my real estate investing in Texas while living in Metro Detroit, and you are doing somewhat the reverse.I didn't want to get too negative, but suffice to say the City of Detroit* is a very tough market. 

We need to ensure that residents are not negatively impacted when selling properties.