As soon as you put a scratched or dented appliance in you’re telling the tennant “thus kind of property has dented and scratched appliances”.

I'll check out some of the other products you mentioned.  

Were they reliable in getting the rent payments processed from the tenant's checking / savings account to the landlord's account?

Once you have a contract that works for us, we fund the acquisition and rehab, take on the risk, and split the profits on the backend.What to ExpectComprehensive Support: From finding deals to managing rehabs, we’re with you every step of the way.100% Financing: We cover all the costs, removing a significant barrier to entry.Risk Management: We take on the financial risk, allowing you to focus on learning and growing your real estate business.Profit Sharing: We split the profits 50/50, ensuring a fair and equitable partnership.See for YourselfTo get a better idea of what we’ve accomplished with our partners, please check out my BiggerPockets profile.

I think that it's pretty common that contract for deed is low downpayment, no credit check, and that owner financing is higher downpayment, more vetting of the buyer.

Above 5+ units is possible but more challenging and rates are where you would expect them..50-65%LTV will be common for higher plex units, a common workarounds is if they have a US based family member or business partner with an LLC..Some investors or lenders have specific countries of origin that are restricted or even prohibited, check with your mortgage professional. 

I'm kind of surprised that vendors will keep providing services if their bills aren't being paid?   

If you have to save some $ somewhere: Get some exact measurements and go find a used , surplus, scratch and dent, fb marketplace, etc -- tub that fits (double tripple checking specs), for your contractor to install.

What kind of support did you get?

I recommend you check out the Ohio markets.