Even then, the lower your score, the higher the interest rates and the more fees you will have to pay.

Specifically, ask your agent if she includes estimates of vacancy, capex, maintenance, and management fees in the numbers.  

Even if it takes a couple more months to get a good tenant in it cost a lot less than a none paying tenant for several month, court fees and rehab fees.If she cant pay 1st last and security right now she most likely isn't going to be able to come up with it after she gets in. 

In partnerships where one party is finding the deal and the other party is doing everything else, the deal finding party is usually compensated with a sort of finder's fee.

There are multiple companies that do this for about a $20 fee online.

It basically says that anyone who has a short term rental, needs to live a few minutes away, has to pay $1000 annual permitting fee, get regular inspections, must do it in an area zoned commercial, and any short term rentals must be over 30 days.  

what is the best way to asses the value before i decide to refi cash out and pay an appraisal fee?

That would be $31,000 plus a lot of penalties and fees for being 15 months behind.So, if you just give him $6,000 plus the payoff is $51,000, that's pretty close to the ARV amount before you do any repairs.You can't negotiate a shortsale if he's not on the market with a listing agent.

Our LTV is less than 50% ( yes no risk at all for the bank, and we have top credit score.We already paid the appraisal, environment fee, wasted countless hours etc...The texts in LOI: Financial covenants:-- Min DCR based on actual rents for the first trust deed of 1.25:1.00 based on a 25 year amortization by the end of 2018.And in the loan doc---Property is to maintain a 1.25:1.00 Debt Service Coverage Ratio, tested annually.We would not have paid the fee and sign the LOI, had he included the phrase tested annually.Please understand that the loan  will be for 10 years long, and we are very confident that we will always have fund for the monthly mortgage payment.

I have two options in front of me either to obtain a rehab loan, which will cost me $10k for six months ( points, fees, interest) or just finance the entire deal with my own money (cash).The rehab loan will enable me to obtain an additional property, so in six months i'll have two properties ( one with the loan, another with my cash)  but it'll cost me an extra $10k (on top of the regular down-payment which in any case i'll have to lay out) .