With a PM, the time and effort is minimal.

In the appraisal report, there is a half-sentence mention of the condition of the exterior paint, but it does not indicate in any way that the loan would not be approved because of it.

That you even had to ask if this was OK is an indicator that you have some serious learning to do (I don't say that to be mean!

@Engelo Rumora indicated the Australians had a rough go of it but in my market other Foreign countries are having great success.

Also as an indicator, the MLS should indicate who the buyer agent was on the sale.

Property was in OK condition and would sell retail with a minimal rehab, but I could find no comps to support a rehabbed property at $200K and I didn't want to deal with it for less (and I hate the area, which was probably the real problem).

Right now 20% of the units are owner-occupied.I am looking to minimize the downpayment to take advantage of low interest rates.

But many times there is something you can do to improve the process so that you can minimize your damages.

As this is a very small house, there is no cracking on the walls or ceiling to indicate this issue inside, nor is the floor badly sloped so you can tell without using a level (the rooms are small), and now I wish I had crawled on my belly into the very low crawl space prior to making the offer or at least brought a tennis ball to see how it rolls.

I've never used one before b/c i've had good credit for many years and have kept my CC balances at a minimal.