@Stacey Paulin check out APCU Atlanta Postal Credit Union or any local community banks in the Atlanta area.

It's got to be sent through the postal service of approved.

The real estate licence can be revoked if they break the law and/or violate the code of ethics. 

Always do your own due diligence because the city may have code violations or pending hearings against the prop that don't show up in the title search.

On the ICC (International Code Council) there are some free codes listed.

I see you are an engineer in healthcare,  reach out to one of your trusted architects or code guys and talk with them as well. 

And to directly answer your question, if you claim that $1,000 fixed by others to bring it to code.

There are certain neighborhoods and zip codes we just stay out of Bc of the area.

Alongside @Charlie Fitzgerald's  comments, above, you can tell what the local housing allowance is by looking up the BAH rates by ZIP code.

All of that can be found using bestplaces.netIf you want to post all of the details here on the forum, we can pick them apart and look at why  they are /are not worth looking into further.