My wife and I have very stable, well paying jobs in the Washington DC metro area, but we've made the decision we want to take charge of our financial futures instead of continually trading time for dollars like our families do. 

I played around with his bid and was able to knock off the $13K I needed based on the items we discussed above.

I have no affiliation to the following companies other than I have used, and continue to use their service.

Anything i should look at to determine if i should continue on with the buying process before calling out an inspector?

A newbie like me starting out cant afford to play with the high rollers just yet.  

I guess I will just have to wait to see how it plays out. 

A lot more stressful when you have a vacancy and you still have to make mortgage payments....sometimes it plays on our emotions and doesn't allow us to make good decisions on tenants and other things.Good luck!

My agent indicated that a pre-qual needs to be submitted with an offer.Fairly certain that hard money is my best (if not only) play for this deal, taking into considering my income, cash on hand, and the opportunity to close fast.

(I know a lot of landlords fear retirees because they think they sit home all day and use the utilities and add to wear and tear.)I am sure retirees have a lower spending limit- so maybe you can play with it a bit- I didn't want to take a chance.

I work on Staten Island as a realtor, so I don't want to play Monday morning I told you so ...I can say this , I advice against buying property with out a certificate of occupancy, I had investor do it , but they understand the risks and can wait it most times .