The guy I went with did an excellent job - essentially, he tore out all the OSB, tore out the ceiling, tore out the carpet on the stairway down to the basement, etc.

We have young children and safety is always a priority for us of course.

Essentially, they are loaning you money at 10%.

Essentially, we're hoping to use the ~$100k to drop $50k on two new properties (25% down, each).  

We probably have $7,000-$8000 in it and essentially just used it to store construction materials in we use on our other properties.So, this house was never "held out" for rent, is going to net such a small amount it wouldn't be worth doing a 1031 exchange and may not even be eligible for one.

On the other hand, with FHA, there is no PMI, but the rate is higher (the PMI is essentially built into the fixed rate) ... so, there is no way to remove this higher rate and keep the loan... the only way is to do a refinance when they have 20% equity in the property, but then they would get whatever the market interest rate at that time is on the refinance, which very well could be much higher than today's rate (which they would get to keep in the conventional finance scenario).

All of them have essentially perfect payment history going back the last 2 years, with very minimal maintenance requests.  

If you can attract qualified tenants, and there are no health or safety concerns, I really don't see a problem with renting the home with one coat of paint.

Do not beleive any title that is on a business card that you do not know for sure is accurate until they prove to you that they are real and trustworthy to you and your goals.Planning is essential to be worthy of what you are doing.

You are buying a property that if done by a quality provider has a very solid rehab done, essentially a new home in most aspects.