This is standard operating procedure for banks.

It appears they will place a massage parlor or junk yard anywhere.That worries me a lot.Since I'm in Elk Grove, just a few minutes north of Stockton, I could spend more time there... but the place just doesn't excite me. 

What organization oversees real estate closing procedures?

And if the bank isn't concerned with price, why wouldn't it reduce the price per my request anyway (I imagine there must be an auction/sale procedure required by the mortgage insurer, so maybe the bank doesn't have that discretion)?

Consider the following example: In the 1950’s the major commercial airlines got together at a conference in Poland to devise a uniform safety procedure.

An appraisers gets in the realm of massaging #s.

I spend at least 40 hours per week reading zoning codes looking for ways to massage these old rules and regulations.

I already have experience with buy and Hold properties overseas, just need to study the market and all procedures in here as it's different.

Just slapping on roof tar in the area is a recipe for future disaster.As for anything suspicious, (unless you are trained and test it, you do not 100% know it is mold), mold procedures are; remove it, remediate and encapsulate. 

Having handled them, evictions are sometimes necessary though they can be somewhat lengthy, taxing, and legal procedures has to be followed - hence why it is best to screen well especially when you self-manage - but it is not as bad as it sounds.