My wife and I came very close to pulling the trigger out of state. 

There are some deals out there with new builders where you can put close to zero down even.

To be honest, on over 100 building permits last year in the City of Chicago, with many of them having some form of enclosed porch, I think only 2 were ever mentioned by the Department of Zoning where they brought it up as a "Concern" which led us on a wild goose chase of finding and sharing information, overally causing unnecessary delay to the permit review process and eventually coming to a close (some positive, some negative).

We have to find our own leads and I am having trouble finding leads that turn into a close.

These have horrible rates and fees compared to a true commercial loan, but they close faster, and are more flexible on that DSCR.

Blankets loans are great since you can save money on the loans by lower the closing cost as well.

Since then the company decided to overhaul (and temporarily close) their business and sold off the properties, and investors got a payout from the sale proceeds of the properties they invested.

If it ends up being an expensive or time-consuming repair, you may be able to get bids and have the seller escrow 1.5x or of the bid cost to do the work post-close with a signed agreement and lender approval.  

You'd want to be safe and have 750 hrs of solid hours, such as negotiating, closings, rehab management, dealing with tenants etc.

I live in Ninety Six, SC which is close to Greenville.