If I wanted a full appraisal I could've got it, but paid the extra $400 or so.Helocs have more fine print than a regular mortgage. 

I do however manage 300+ rentals in the area and help our investors find new properties on a regular basis. 

Have a spreadsheet or accounting software and reconcile your bank, pm, and cc statements to the books regularly.

The return would be great for you. as for the other house, still chase it with just the down payment and regular conventional loan process. 

Not sure if that's what you're asking, but I don't regularly do it either.

My hunch is that the agent and lender both believe the house has too many health/safety issues in its current state for it to receive a clean appraisal with no conditions called out ... which means, no bank will lend you money for the house until all of those conditions get repaired.So, they are pointing you in the direction of a 203(k) FHA loan - which is a special type of FHA loan for properties like this that need to be rehabbed.  203k loans include the funds for both the purchase and the repairs; however, the repairs have to be completed by a contractor.The contractor needs to go first because their bid is handed over to the appraiser and factored into the appraisal to justify the full loan amount that you'd be getting.Good luck with everything!

I would request a letter from an actual local mental health professional that you can call to verify the ESA prescription, and refuse to accept any online forms they may have paid $20 to download from a fake mental health professional.

One thing that I think I have learned that seems to hold true is that because my day job is moderate six figures and I plan to keep my regular job for a long time, that I should plan to get more of turnkey rentals and use property managers.

2nd, how do you decide what the monthly payments are and does the entire payment go toward the note or can it be structured like a regular mortgage to where a portion would go toward the note and the other part goes toward interest?

Is 3% too high for a regular agent when I am buying multiple properties a year?