Most of the time the owner doesn't have any control of the inspections, because you are the last person to see any construction, unless you are actually very involve in the construction and oversight and knowledgeable enough to rise some red flags.  

Other investors may disagree.If a city inspector comes by and sees a dumpster on the street (meaning not in the property) it might raise a flag and the city issues a stop work.People do work without permits all of the time, but there is always that risk.

However with the new laws in place appraisers are facing stricter regulations and when they give an appraised value that is higher than the contract price the automatic underwriting system that their appraisal goes into for review will flag that value and then they have to give an explanation as to why the appraisal came in above the contract price.

Wouldn't that raise a red flag to my lender to call the loan due?

This statement seems like a pretty big red flag for me.  

this would be handed over to her E and O carrier most likely.. they have a 5k deductible  at least that's what we have here.. she may pay it.. the carrier will decide if there if they want to fight you or pay.

first and foremost ANY Nevada based lender must be state licensed and NMLS licensed.check with state and NMLS registery to see if they are licensed first.. if not.. then well you have your answer.1% up front is not common or acceptable in most instances. lendinghome will fund your deals.. go to their website.. they charge 199 per submission but they really lend.. no worries of joker brokers.. ( and I am not calling JDB a joker broker per se') just that there are tons' of lending scammers out thereup front fee's are HUGE red flags in the industry and are to be avoided.. if your doing a simple fix and flip for a SFR type property... then no up front fee other than a very modest one to a VERY large firm should be paid.

Tie orange survey flagging around the tops of the stakes.  

Hey @Mindy Jensen, it appears someone is advertising on our platform is engaging in what is traditionally regarded as a red flag for scamming (HML promising unusually good terms/conditions, asking for a fee upfront).

Another idea: Talk to the postal carriers in the area you are interested in.