Full on Preventative Measures are the only cure as we know it. 

I can't think of any possible excuse that would prevent me from presenting an offer to a client.what a bum.

I would like to factor in a realistic amount of money that would be needed in reserves to prevent a problem with a property resulting in foreclosure because I didn’t have either enough money set aside or don’t have access to the funds needed to do the repairs.

So much so in fact, that I have decided to replace ALL toilet flappers at each turnover or minimally every 12 to 18 months just as a preventive measure.  

Tenants who are really worried about getting evicted and want to prevent it are the good ones. 

They also want to prevent the deals with relatives and friends agreeing to do a straw purchase and then sell the property back to the original owner for less money.

I was in a similar situation where a bunch of strange hurdles prevented myself and partner getting a mortgage - could go on for a while about that, but wont - so my partner got a home equity loan against her primary residence to finance the property (buy and hold), and I put about 20k in.We got the property with the plan to refi out.  

The next step for these home owners is foreclosure, so your pitch to them should be that you can help them prevent foreclosure and save their credit.Best of luck!

But I heard that the banks will not appraise that extra square footage, which would prevent buyers from purchasing.  

How would you guys have handled this differently and what tips do you have to prevent things like pig surprises from happening?