Thats too big a risk item to them.

Ive been having some difficulty comping out the piece of land as this particular property has all utilities already set for the property ( water, sewer(not septic) and electric) and most of the land properties do not have this, does anyone know how much it generally costs to get these items set up?

@Brant Vaught  If you have no cash reserves, then your FIRST item of business is to BUILD YORU CASH RESERVES!!

It gave you the status of someone that knew what they were doing and could handle all the required items involved, it was not a case of the blind leading the blind and the other party liked that.

Look at all the places they do not want you to inspect to find the expensive repair items that could turn the deal into a dud.Great cash flow in years one and two can be wiped out at once with a few big ticket repair items.Some TK companies are good but it's buyer beware out there. 

I feel like I should get some basic items in order first or would it be better to do it all simultaneously?? 

We ended up doing about $5,000 worth of upgrades (all new backyard fence (and the backyard was huge), kitchen backsplash, etc.)What caught me off guard more than anything was the utility bills, on going lawn care, open house and "realtor love" expense, a few staging items, etc.  

It has been over 5 years and he has been on probation with nothing but good references and works as a construction project manager so problems with the house will be only major issues all small items he can handle.

I originally decided to self-service this loan but will take Mike's and your advice and move this over to a collector before anything.  

Check with your agent but here are a few items that should be placed in the special stipulations portion of your contract (special stips will often control over conflicting stips in the contract which is why you want to put them here):- Due diligence starts when the Seller delivers to the Buyer the bank approval letter- Earnest money is due within X number of days from the time the Seller delivers the bank approval letter (BAL) to the Buyer- Closing shall take place within 30 days of the Buyer receiving the BAL- Buyer may, at Buyers sole discretion, terminate this contract if the sale of the property is not approved by the Sellers lender within 90 days of the Binding Agreement Date.