The plumber will likely have to cut open the ceiling to confirm and make repairs, so you can save a little money by learning how to do that yourself, confirm the problem, and then call the plumber for repair, then patch the ceiling yourself.As Jonathan is trying to point out, it's important to expect these things and have funds on hand to deal with them.

Who gets to decide if a repair that appears to be needed is real or fictious, created to reduce the net available to the lender? 

And yes, I know people will say "get her in contract if she wants the house and perform repairs" that would be the best scenario except At that point I was completely out of money.

However, for me, I would rather just pay someone and not bother with finding tenants, dealing with repairs, etc. 

If a landlord needs to enter a property for an inspection or repair, a two-day notice is required.

For me personally I am not handy when it comes to repairs and such.

.- Learn how to do your own repairs & rehabs to save money now.

Once, a tenant left a massive stain on the rug beyond repair.

I am just looking for insight from local MA realtors, attorneys or landlords regarding what my typical monthly expenses (if any) will likely be (I don’t mean one-off expenses like roof repairs). 

I have just over $200K left of owner-financing, but I'd like to obtain a cash-out mortgage/loan of $500K (ideally) to be able to pay off the previous owner and make some repairs, etc.