My word of caution would be to approach carefully and make sure you can hit your financial targets prior to approaching the business this way.  

I think people who take care of business will provide full disclosure, because for them full disclosure is a selling point.

I am a disabled veteran with a small amount of capitol and not much of an income to get anymore in the near future.

It's more than I would want to take care of for the property size, and based on the limited pictures it doesn't look terribly useful as it is.Could the barn be converted to a garage or work shop at a reasonable price? 

There is plenty of cheap inventory in Torrington and Winsted, however it is a bit rougher of an area and honestly does not look like it will be improving in the next 5-10 years.

But I don't even know if 17k would be considered a worth it for this large of an investment.

So, eh, who cares about the pesky reserve fund?  

Hi @Anthony Musacchio, Best practices from the standpoint of an agent is to reach out to your agent and have them contact the listing agent to arrange it.

But an appraisal is done when you really care about the number being correct.  

Ok, so I'm no REI guru (yet), I have purchased two primary residences, and have two other rentals, but I have never heard of an agent charging to look at a property that I'm going to use them to purchase.