I would use a reliable 3rd party property inspector for this which will cost you about $200 - $400 based on the size property.Before doing that, definitely have a local realtor that's representing you look into it.  

I would refund them any portion above the sale price + our profit margin + hard money.Thoughts?

What size MF are talking about.  

So you're looking for a property you can live in and rent out a portion, like a multi family?  

There is normally some sort of 'discount' offered to the buyer of a package deal, but the size of that discount will tend to depend on how badly the seller just wanted them off their hands as well as how interested the buyer was in buying both to begin with.

Good sized yard and well kept houses in the neighborhood.  

So, the plaintiff was out $2k for a portion of our legal fees, plus their legal fees.

Account Closed  I do a little of this and I would only deal with someone I can eye ball.and size up.. too many weirdo's and wanna bees on the internet or on bP or linkedin or facebook.I also owned a sizeable HML company and of course we advertised and many times did not meet our borrowers but if they were local we always had them come in.but I had a Accurant program to run them through that would detect fraud and I did that first contact.I have gotten a few loans from lendinghome and they do a back ground check which I think is great.But in general private lending is by non professional lenders known to you.. not people you meet on the internet that's a good way to lose your private money LOL

What type and size deals are you looking at in LA?

Other concerns: foundation integrity, A/C sizing, others unknown without more information.