Is an itemized list from a contractor and proof you paid them enough if questioned about a passive loss?

Yes and lest not forget if a capex item hits plus general maintenance that no one tracks but is an expense and TIME

Hi,
I recently bought a house in detroit. The pre-purchase inspection listed a number of recommended repairs. My PM just hired a contractor to make these repairs and sent me an invoice that simply says "Upgrades City...

Finding a seller willing to carry that remaining 20% seems like an option, but I'm not sure how prevalent that actually is in the commercial world. 

I think there are a few homework items for you to do to make a decision: define your long term goals, Run the numbers, and research local regulations.Define your long term goals: Set this property aside for a second.

If your offer gets accepted, a good lender will work with you daily to make sure all of the needed items for your loan are in before the appraisal comes back.

And also wont carry to much the liability.. 

He says it is spread out between multiple items.

There were also multiple items he had added to the estimate that we never agreed upon or knew about.

This means that I carry a greater equity position (lower LTV) and the overall return is not as good as a fully leveraged investment but that NNN lease (with 2% annual increase) still beats the unknowns of all the other inflationary expenses that could affect gross leases (like multi-family).