I have done a foundation repair once and it was not as bad as everyone thought.

Just like a hard money loan requires money down so they know that investor will stick it out when it gets tough is why I say 25k non-refundable.Have you thought about sitting a subdivision?

Some time last year I was obsessed with house flipping formulas and thought I'd try my hand after podcast and YouTube videos.

This will teach you enough about your local markets to start answering your own questions on where to invest as well as give you food for thought on what you are trying to achieve with investing (what kind of investing, your criterea, etc)Good luck

Two thoughts:1) If you are going with a conventional loan from a bank, you will need to make sure the lender is aware that the down payment is another loan and allows that.

Looking at a similar situation and would love to hear thoughts.  

Someone correct me but I thought you forfeited your security deposit if you abandoned the lease?

Maybe one could rent out the house as "all utilities included" and rent for more than market rate.What are your thoughts?

Just some thoughts, is it really that good of a deal?

Sorry I didn't spend more time elaborating that...I got distracted with the thought of someone potentially not getting an inspection and jumped straight to that.