whos responsible if he performs a repair that starts a fire or causes some other damage?  

Another thing to consider is EMD- Do you have any provisions to retain EMD if the lender isn't able to perform?  

The advantage Podio has over say Highrise, Salesforce, Top Performer etc... is the fact that it is basically infinitely customisable from its setup, lead capturing, integrations with other platforms, and automated workflows

@Terry Hughes..Most of my BEST deals happened when everyone else stood by.  2007/2008/2009 in my market..All my offers were accepted with little or no competition(HUD()Fannie Mae)..Perform Due Diligence, Run the numbers and Take action......GL

Consider having an energy audit performed on your property.

If this is really the underlying problem, you're unlikely to get sued to performed and very likely to lose your EMD.

The FHA loan may require the seller to perform repairs, or pay for termite treatment.

Get the borrower to re-perform.

Network with brokers and agents, run your numbers, make offers, perform your due diligence, before you buy call in experts to look at the property, raise more or have enough capital reserved to cover issues that pop up, which they always do, run your numbers, don't overpay for the property and run your numbers.

Secondary/tertiary or submarkets just outside major metros typically have low rent appreciation, lower returns, but are generally more stable; like you said, I think poor performing assets in these areas are great to invest in an "up market".