@Cayton Green I absolutely would vote for your Option B versus A. 

If the owner can't judge their work or has no understanding of basic versus complicated tilesetting, that's the owner's problem.You really should get someone from Lowes next time to do your work.

Our approach is more geared towards long term holds versus flipping, which is why I ask.

One of my favorite test I like to give is for the investor to explain how they would make money in a tertiary market like Wilkes-Barre/Scranton versus say a primary market like NYC.

Depends on the redemption amount versus how long you intend to keep the property.

And these are also most liquid should you ever need to sell quickly versus a townhouse and especially more so than multi-family, which would only sell to another investor likely seeking a deal - whereas you can sell a SFH to a prospective owner-occupant willing to pay top price.

Plus I wager that the price to rent per room is higher as the neighborhoods get better.

Philadelphia is in the midst of a renaissance …There is considerable investment being made by Colleges and Hospitals as well as public funds that are being directed to vacant site revitalization, in addition to, under-utilized current development (like the proposed Penn's Landing project and Waterfront development).This investment in combination with the fact that Philadelphia has the highest poverty rate per capita versus any other major metro area, creates conditions that are ripe for development.

The longer the lease they sign, the lower the rent I would consider.Remember that if you get that 1200, versus 1000 per month, that's 2400 extra per year.  2 months of no rental income is 2400 at market rent (I usually assume a turnover is 3 months including time to get the tenant out, reno, and time to find a new tenant). 

Is it better to go with a credit union versus bank?