Had our son a few weeks later in July, and did all of the inspections and loan over the next month, and ended up closing in September.

Also, Baltimore has so many silly inspections, fees and fines they issue for little to no reason. 

One key lesson is to always prioritize a thorough inspection—and go beyond the basics.

Essentially, you have to spend your own money and complete work on the property prior to reimbursing yourself out of the escrowed rehab budget.The draw process typically takes 5-7 days from initial request, to scheduling an inspection, and finally for the lender to wire those funds to you after your work is confirmed by the inspector.

Another option is to hire independent inspectors or even handymen whom you can pay a flat fee for every time they inspect your house.

Common utilities paid by the landlord will be similar if not the same; standard services (extermination, changing filters, snow removal, fire safety inspections etc.) will cost the same.Expenses will vary depending on the market.

Our realtor has continued to have us personally sign all the documents as they have come in (home inspection, personal property sale, etc).

On top of that if you can find local investors that would give great insights.Section 8 has stringent requirements so it would be important to check off the inspection list as soon as you can.

This allows you to make an offer without a HI contingency which is much more competitive than one with the contingency since you are buying the property as is.You can still get the home inspection after you settle to capture all of the detail items.

its creating some friction with brokers that are representing buyers  Listing agents no change.the commish is becoming a negotiation just like a home inspection..