I was interested in Smith Falls as it has a satellite campus and a growing cannabis industry.

I was also having knee issues on my bike stemming from wrong cleat positioning in my shoes and potential overuse from cramming training into a short time period.

and they didn't like the look of the stem wall, so they breached the contract and didn't close.In the final analysis we decided that we are comfortable holding the house and offering it on rent.

Believe this is antiquated notion that stems from the "early to bed, early to rise" sort of philosophy from generations ago. 

I haven't done a project like this, but I have always wondered if you are using existing footings (or are those new, cant tell, concrete looks a little clean to be original) and then you are keeping the existing perimeter stem wall/ and some framing.

Otherwise, perhaps there are structures designed to protect unrelated properties in the LLC from being targeted by a lawsuit stemming from an incident in just one of the properties. 

You could cure the problem yourself by pouring a 6" high cement stem wall under the studs from your side of the wall.   

It is a way to make the sellers feel like they are getting something valuable in the negotiations when the fact of the matter is you are probably better off coordinating any repairs stemming from the inspection anyway after you take ownership.

My uncertainty stems from a quicken loans mortgage specialist initial phone call  for a pre-approval, he sort of immediately dismissed the idea and recommended I just apply for the mortgage alone?

Examples: Oil&Gas, Farming, Govt contracts, Cannabis, Export/Import etc.