I want to get this thing going but this fear of not knowing my rehab costs is making it very difficult to run numbers and pull the trigger.

And still do your home work before pulling the trigger.

Especially if you are able to rent the property out and pull equity and still cash flow.

Get ready to be razzmatazzed and then get ready to pull out your credit card for the $10K-$40K coaching pitch.

The house is usually extremely dirty after one year - with the same air filter installed -(after I show them how to change it at the lease signing, and it is spelled out to change four times per year), weeds in the yard ( too hard to pull them out as they become big I assume), many times- cars parked half on the grass ( we always have two car driveways and garages - and it is spelled out in the lease not to do this), etc.

If you only have 20K invested and the bank has 80K, they will be more hesitant to foreclose on a house they have an 80K stake in, whereas if they only had a 20K stake in the house (you have an 80K stake) they will pull the trigger easier because it is less of a loss. 

I would not pull the trigger on this one.

You can immediately pull out your initial purchase if the LTV is there.

There are many other factors that you can pull into the software that Zillow provides for free (zillow.com/research/data/).  

I can and sometimes do order IRS transcripts upfront, but that means it'll take two weeks to get them out house hunting while we're waiting on the IRS, during which time your clients are going to walk into Wells Fargo for a 5 minute preapproval based on stated income, stated assets, and a credit pull.- Listing agent for some ungodly reason allows the sellers to be present for the appraisal, and the listing agent ignored my friendly email saying to direct the appraiser to the buyer's agent should the appraiser contact you, and then the sellers say something stupid in the presence of the appraiser about $50k of deferred foundation maintenance.