No problem.But this person wasn't tested by you to give her such a break and your time. 

I'm looking for material that will stand the test of renters who may or may not care about the property.

You could always hire a pool guy at their expense as well (raise the rent $50 or whatever the pool guy costs) so that they can still use it and you have assurance that it is being well taken care of.

But the sales from what I've seen are a tad on the weak side, so I plan on looking at surrounding areas to do flips to raise capital for the rentals.

You want to raise the rents $200.00.How much are the extras going to cost to make that $200?  

A personal goal of mine is to build a portfolio and a strong team here, so that I can live back out on the west coast in Seattle/Tacoma  close to family, and raise my kids.

If it is acceptable does it raise any red flags? 

So I have learned that if i fix them up front, I can market the improvements and raise my sales price.

It's a process, they know how to teach it,  so just go with the flow and poof you come out the other side take the tests, may be once , maybe twice and in no time at all you're there.BEST LUCK!

The broker's and seller's certainty that you can and will close play just as important of a role and you will be up against other bidders that have that experience and perhaps have even bought from the broker (and maybe even the seller) before.If your situation is one where you don't have experience with ownership of income property and you don't have the $900K but need to raise that money from investors, then your plan should include buying smaller properties first.