External is usually where they want to approve the color of the house, types of materials, roofing, landscaping, driveway condition, etc.

This should include the amount of money being offered, the date by which the tenant must vacate the property, and any other terms and conditions of the agreement.

You don’t have to skimp on the neighborhood or the quality of the house, but if it is a nice little 3/1 or 3/2 single family home in nice condition with no deferred maintenance, then your chance of making a mistake or getting hurt financially while you learn is limited.

Along with property tax's way lower and you dont have the weather issues in the deep south..

We get commercial financing through small regional banks who often require us to make rent deposits as a condition of our loan agreement so we 'choose' whichever bank gives us financing.

He said no refund , the refund is conditional.

Another thing I didn't mention but should have is that its VERY hard to create enough forced appreciation with a rehab when you use FHA because the property needs to be in pretty good condition to qualify for an FHA loan to begin with. 

The clear and obvious answer would be to instantly pay the back taxes and offer a small lump sum for them to move with and just lowball in whatever structure works for the both of you weather that is a better sale price or a greater monthly payment to them and just find your middle ground that works out for you both.

Due to market conditions we no longer post credit requirements because we don't want to scare tenants away.

It’s also worth considering things like the local market conditions, return on investment, population and job growth trends, and other economic indicators.