They have a great deal of latitude on what they insist you pay, and what you actually work out in payment.Providing, that they are not a corrupt department, and most are Not (Some are quite political, with very "Selective Enforcement") Code officers and department would appreciate have a Foreign Landlord, who is in contact, works towards substantial compliance, and who they know they can trust to resolve an issue.That usually takes time and money.You need to explain , to them, that you "had a Terrible Property Manager, and have since changed and expect it Not to occur again."

Usually local REIA meetings are a good place to find both. 

You can usually buy a property and use it for its original intended purpose without too much trouble or review, but when you try to use it for a different,  non-conforming purpose most cities have some sort of planning/zoning commission that will have to review and approve it before its approved. 

Oh and the REIA is usually hosted by investors in your area. 

In my state they usually don't jump immediately unless there is a cluster of sales supporting the jump or if there is a revaluation to the area.

You would usually just flip the contract to another party for a fee.All you would need in terms of documentation is the agreement of sale that would to contain the words "and/or assigns" which would go after your name (since you're putting it under contract).When you find this person to flip it to, you'd add an addendum stating who the new buyer is. 

Although their purchases are usually lower, so yes, we should see an impact, but I think it will be more due to uncertainty and not actually being denied. 

(Of course that would be contingent upon you becoming an agent at that brokerage and staying there for 6-12 months or something of that nature.)Other good questions to ask them would be what are their commission splits, a breakdown of ALL fees (monthly or annually), what their commission cap is, whether they provide leads for you and if the commission changes if they do, how often they provide training and what the topics of the trainings usually are, do they provide mentoring to help you work through deals, etc.Also, keep in mind that there are fees that the Broker has no control over such as MLS access, ($300/6 mo in PA), Realtor dues if the Broker is a member of the association of Realtors ($600/yr in PA), marketing materials, cost of yard signs, networking associations to network with investors, etc.

If you're looking to access the equity for a long-term investment, it usually makes more sense to go the Conventional refi route to get the better rate & terms locked in. 

@Bruce M. those websites showing you what a project costs and what it will return usually don't refer to investors, more or less a homeowner with a dated but decent kitchen/bath that they want to redo.