I figure they were the wrong lenders.

Mistook what looked like a small amount of mold for not a big problem (pipes burst, so I figured the mold was from that), the mold ended up being moisture from the stucco.

Hey Jarrett, were you able to figure this out?

Ryan - I would say  yes to the main question ...its  best to  start with using  hypothetical scenario  that is likely higher than you plan to use  ...ask the lender to  use these figures...provide them with all the  data they  request  ...ask them to fully underwrite and  approve the  file  ( versus just  providing a  " pre qualification "  opinion  based off a loan officer  reviewing the data ) ...getting a firm / formal  loan approval commitment  is free and  this should allow you to know  exacatly where you stand

I am doing some research for folks like you - figuring out if a model like this would be valuable.

@Tom Gimer Thanks, I figured as such.

With that, figured this could finally be my first need and or justification for using a VA.

Columbus OH is also another great market, although many investors have figured that out and invested there.Good LuckGino

So it sounds like I need to figure this initial involvement of the contractor as cost of analyzing deals. ...because if the contractor comes back with an estimate of repairs that is too high to make the deal attractive then I'd be out that fee for his service.

I called a plumber.....they came out to fix it.....Now everyone is happy.Since you're in the East Bay like me, I would suggest you have your property manager in Cleveland give the tenant 24 hour notice that they are going to come into the property to see if they can figure out what's going on......They may find or hear something that may not intially be visible but if they run some water faucets and or flush the toilets and water keeps dripping or running afterwards you can start to get to the root of the problem.