Third when he got his income tax in to go to a local bank and buy a Certificate of Deposit.

For these scenarios, unless I am getting a heck of a steal, I make this a task for the seller as a condition of the sale.Got someone on month to month and just want to ease the transition and minimize damage and eviction expense in the event they don't vacant peacefully....I would go in with $500 plus their full deposit back.Naturally, I assume your situation is somewhere in between those scenarios and logically, so would be my answer.

(although I haven't in a long time- I'm about tired of all of them and only go in to make deposits these days)  I'm not suggesting you over-leverage yourself, but 70% down?  

(I prefer to try to bargain with the tenant by giving some of their security deposit back if they leave quickly without problems before it is used up in back rent owed.)  

If you intend to do a basic rehab, then look for recent sales that were in similar condition.Rarely are you going to find an exact match (unless you're looking at townhouses or condos - then it can be much easier), so you (and the appraiser) have to infer the value of things that don't match up exactly. 

Did you put up the earnest money deposit?

Non-refundable means it doesn't get refunded no matter what, as soon as it hits my bank account it is income, not a deposit.

Deposit of like $20k had to be made to HOLD the demo.3.

Also, doesn't the buyer investor have to give me a good faith deposit or no?

I can just "match them together" .