I would rather work with an agent that I trust than an attorney, like Jeff would.

On your next property, pay the $500 - $800 to have a reputable building inspector crawl through the property and provide a thorough report.We still send our building inspector in during diligence and he still catches things we miss - he spends a day (or more on larger buildings) crawling through all systems and units where we normally walk through in less than an hour.   

They absolutely want your business, can overlook the lack of credit, and will write a portfolio loan much quicker, with a lot less hassle.Keep in mind, the commercial lender at your local bank may charge a bit more (slightly higher interest rate and closing costs) than an FHA loan, and you will definitely need more of a down payment.  

Instead they put in a huge battery bank, built a full exhaust system through the attic and roof and put a hydroponic marijuana farm into business.

We ended up negotiating a "cash for keys" deal which in the end was much cheaper than an eviction attorney.

Many people are doing this right now because a cash offer is better on paper than an offer subject to financing. 

@David StumpfLint in the drier exhaust, no fire rated door from garage to house, needed a gasket sealed well cap, railing to basement and half wall on open side.

Agents want buyer’s to go on Zillow/MLS/whatever find the house, offer list price without any work other than an e-sign.They then expect to be rewarded with 3% for peanuts of worth of actual time.

Because our tenants only need to bring their clothes and laptop and can rent just the months they will be at the university, we can charge much higher rents than an average student can afford.

Even if you overpay on your first deal, the experience and knowledge you'll gain is worth 10x more than an extra 1% on an interest rate.