I would have paid another experienced local investor (an unbiased party not having anything to do with the sale of the home or selling me services) to do a thorough video tour of every inch of the house before submitting an offer. 

Your finished product should be basically the same as it would be for a market tenant. 

Bought them both on short sale in 2017 and 2018 and have no issues keeping them rented.

I assume you hired a corporate sale team when you decided to scale.  

But, this is the new rent and it's not negotiable and just like everything in life, if you're not happy with the price, don't purchase the product.  

You sign the Purchase and Sale agreement with the seller.

i've used a few of their products, and also done similar mailers by hand.

Timing of the sale of each might be an issue, it's a complicated strategy you will want to think through and plan for before you list either property. 

The potential 2.5% commission that might have been directed to the buyer's side is now potentially off the table.This change prompts a critical question for unrepresented buyers: how does this alter your strategic advantage when approaching a sale without an agent?

He would pay us $1.3 mil for the land and an undetermined % of the sale price of the homes.