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.

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.

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

As for security in occupied houses, I don’t have a definite solution - it’s just that opening doors is a low-value task that a busy buyer’s agent probably shouldn’t want to handle.Any decent listing agent will make sure a buyer has at least visited the property before submitting an offer, otherwise their chances of backing out during their inspection/ due diligence window is much higher.

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.

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

PEST CONTROL: Your Rental Unit has been inspected and deemed to be pest-free.