I can't imagine this would be defined by the Revised Code of Washington but I've been surprised before! 

Nothing surprises me anymore.

I was surprised when I saw specifically that the neighbor's house was actually sold at about $95,000. 

This is a very common situation and I am surprised that seems to be some much confusionBuying a house as is simply means the seller is not making any repairs but And I repeat but your did not waive any or your contingencies unless expressed in the contract1- Right to due diligence  as per California law2- Right of inspection3-Appraisal and financing contingencies, title issue  etc etcYour agent should have sent out an addendum cancelling escrow if seller does not respond to your requests for repairs or whatever you wanted before your due diligence period expires  The emd is yours to keep if your sent out the proper notices during the time periods  allowed  The agent should know this it is Read your contract to confirm 

I was surprised when they told me that they have never done credit checks.

To my surprise the house was on his list of homes.  

A couple of caveats; 1) As this is an older property, it would not surprise me if the expense ratio was higher 2) Carrying cost are not included 3) Unless you have done this a few times before, renovation costs tend to inflate 4) Your time / effort is also not included.

If it's as good of a deal as your numbers suggest, I would be very surprised if it sits for long. 

It seems like you offering 150k but also telling them that you would be willing to go to 180k would just mean that, surprise, we got an offer for 178k. 

They'd rather take a week or two of vacancy to get an extra $100 - $200 month/rent on paper. 2) Sometimes there are surprises when tenants move their stuff out, and we don't necessarily want a new tenant moving in the next day.