Usually goes along with a refundable pet deposit of $250-$500 on top of normal deposit. 

It is normal for a rural market to almost always be a buyers' market - that's why I call them slow markets.  

There are a few things to consider when looking to cash out refi:- There is normally a cooling off period of 6-12months before you can refi- You need a new appraisal (make sure to get this ordered from the institution that you will be refinancing with.

How long is normally her Protected Period?

Look at $ per sq foot and $ per bd to compare with the recent sales.

Is that normal for this market?

Here is my generalization: "REO / short sale specialist" agents are on average waaaay more shady than "normal" agents, and I wouldn't trust one farther than I could throw her or him.I'll give an extreme example I encountered:Title clouded, unclear if bank actually had the right to foreclose to begin with.

If it was a contractor you may be able to get the contractor to come back and do the work but normally you have to transfer warrantied work into your name prior to closing.

Normal real estate appreciation, the kind agents and homeowners talk about, is dependent on a lot of factors.

Also, if it's been more than two years (I think it's two years, don't quote me on that), here you are required to re-paint because of normal wear and tear.