As part of the broker's license requirement, I need to open a broker trust or escrow account at a Real Estate Commission bank.

I agreed to review existing report, in addition to getting my own inspection done by an inspector I trust.

I think you're so right that it depends a lot on factors specific to each investor's comfort level. 

You need a trusted local team at your beck and call.

http://www.har.com/content/newsroom/Houston Real Estate Highlights in October Single-family home sales continued their post-Hurricane Harvey rebound as volume rose 7.5 percent year-over-year with 6,381 units sold;Single-family home sales remain 2.8 percent ahead of 2016’s year-to-date volume;Total property sales increased 6.6 percent with 7,614 units sold;Total dollar jumped 10.8 percent to $2.1 billion;The single-family home median price rose 3.9 percent to $226,491, which represents an October high;The single-family home average price increased 2.7 percent to $285,858, also the highest level for an October;Single-family homes months of inventory grew year-over-year to a 3.9-months supply, but is down from a 4.3-months pre-Harvey peak – the result of a surge in consumer demand for housing;Townhome/condominium sales rose 5.8 percent, with the average price down 1.1 percent to $195,393 and the median price down 3.1 percent to $153,000;Leases of single-family homes rose 13.6 percent with the average rent up 2.8 percent to $1,776;Volume of townhome/condominium leases jumped 34.8 percent with average rent up 2.9 percent to $1,533.HAR still encourages anyone who has housing available for temporary occupancy (up to 12 weeks) to please post it on our Harvey Temporary Housing page at www.har.com/temporaryhousing to provide housing to those in need.

It's a not a high end home, probably mid level, nice blue-collar neighborhood.  

It’s much better to almost encourage this and be honest and give the seller a feeling of trust with you.

Even if you're shot down right away in the phone call you're learning to take on failure and how to communicate on the investment/management level.

The key is to screen properly, collect a deposit commensurate with the level of risk a particular tenant presents, and have tight processes in place to stop problems early.

I certainly feel unsure of many of my comments and suggestions a lot of the time and try my best to serve it as a trust but verify type of approach.