In my market the cost of a general contractor willing to play ball with 203k is such that BRRRR will not work since you will not have sufficient equity after financing the cost of said general contractor. 

If they are only 4 months in arrears they would only need $2,879.12 to bring current. 6 months of seasoning might not be sufficient; you may need at least 12.

Off the top of my head, below are some considerations to keep in mind:-Training is important for new agents so make sure the training they offer is sufficient for your needs.

Weekly farmer's market, multiple LARGE cultural festivals, a sufficient music scene draw, some minor league sports arenas (Hockey, Basketball), and a flourishing LGBTQ+ community to boot.   

No sweat.As a real estate investor you need to maintain sufficient reserves for the unexpected.

My plan is to acquire a portfolio of buy and hold properties sufficient to support my husband and me in our retirement (~20 yrs from now), as well as to create a legacy for our children.

I assume that I can take possession (change locks etc) and perform structural repairs sufficient to bring it back to habitable standards but my question is does that include sprucing up the property itself ie tree trimming grass cutting and the like to maintain neighborhood norms?

If that case, your W-2 withholding might be sufficient. if your AGI is less than 150k, you have to make lesser of 100% of the tax shown on your PY return  or90% of your tax for the current year. 

Each month's rent payment may consist of not only the rent, but an additional amount which can be applied toward the down payment on an already specified price.legal descriptionA property description, recognized by law, that is sufficient to locate and identify the property without oral testimony.lenderA term which can refer to the institution making the loan or to the individual representing the firm.

And if a buyer gets "cold feet" as was said, they need to use that as motivation and then find a valid reason to get out of the agreement, but "cold feet" as far as I understand the law as a layman, is not going to be sufficient.