I contacted the guy that I'd found through Homeadvisor and told him I wouldn't use anyone that wasn't licensed and lied about it, no matter how nice their work might be. 

Now you can lie about that to the lender, but not sure if I would recommend that option.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous.

Don't accuse them of lying.

This is probably the most common issue REI face in this area.You lied on your taxes.

One person shoved chicken bones down garbage disposal and sink drain and it was horrible.  

I've been through 4 due diligence with 4 different reps only to find out that they were outright lying to me.

The reality of the market lies somewhere in between these numbers.Paying off a property trades return for security.

@Adam Adams @Chris Seveney Thank you both.I definitely understand the logic of buying on your own and then finding a JV, but I'm still confused with a bit of a chicken/egg situation.

I'm not saying the agent is lying - it's very possible that he/she has been told there are two meters and hasn't verified or has seen two meters but one doesn't work any more (stranger things have happened).