Again this is my first deal so I was given an escrow officer as green at REI deals as I am at making them, making the switch soon. 

He is new to the game as well and I'm sure he will want to protect himself by assessing the deal before he agrees to it.  

I suppose this rule is a good thing as it is a protection against ignorance but from FHA's eye's its a protection to them incase the property becomes a REO.

You will not have any appreciation, nor inflation protection, but you can get good diversification/risk reduction, and decent principal protection.  

Is this the best form to protect landlord for repairs?  

We just did the research on these new HUD guidelines the other day and here's a snippet of the larger article:What HUD’s new Guidance means for housing providers:Arrests records are not a valid reason to deny a rental applicant housing.Convicted criminals may be denied housing if the reason for their convictions clearly demonstrates that the safety of your residents and/or property are at risk.Blanket terms in your screening criteria that say “Any criminal convictions will be denied” are now considered discriminatory and in violation of the Fair Housing Act.The new Guidance does not make criminals a protected class, but rather establishes requirements to clearly prove why you are denying an applicant based on a criminal conviction.Remember that a housing provider violates the Fair Housing Act when the provider’s policy or practice has an unjustified discriminatory effect, even when the provider had no intent to discriminate.source and full article

If nothing exists now and this is a new unit, the contractor will have to install a switch and whip or pipe to power it in addition to venting the fan to the roof.

That means you'll need to also learn how to analyze deals, work up the numbers and show how they work, where the profit (the lenders' payback) will come from, how their money is protected, etc.When you get where you're going, connect with the local REIAs and network with active investors who are currently working with private lenders.

Most of what I have read about the minimum standards, aside from helping you choose tenants who have a high likelihood of treating your property well, is that having minimum standards is a way to protect yourself from lawsuit.

Warning Shameless plug coming up next: The best way to protect your income on your rental property is by have a Rentsure membership.