They probably want to be certain YOU are legit.Most of the scams I've seen are by non-owners. 

It looks like according to the county site (sbcounty.gov) they require all renter payment go to the active owner. 

@Brett Coultas if you're a newbie, you want to be careful of an "investor friendly" agent selling you something they truly don't understand:(95+% of agents only know how to handle owner-occupied transactions - you can verify this by asking them calculate ROI for you or Cash-On-Cash!

The only other options I can see are A) your mom partnering with you rather then selling the property to you - you become 50% owner and bring the funds and management to the rental while she provides the existing equity as her contribution; or B) your mom lending you the rehab cash out of her personal funds while also seller financing the house to you. 

One with low cash, one with some owner financing and a little less price. 

Larger owners tend to analyze market rents monthly or even weekly and manage rents (or incentives) the best way they can.As long as the owner is engaged, the chance of adjusting rents is higher.

I heard a story today of a condo owner whose entire complex was lost.

There is a house (2b x 1b) in the family I was interested in becoming the owner of.

This is a common misconception but we're an online platform where the owner chooses their own price and selects their own tenants.

I've built relationships with property managers who have distressed properties in their portfolios that can communicate directly to owners.