Given AirBnB is all rating and reviews, I do not want the risk of someones phone being dead, the internet being down, or batteries being dead, etc.  

It’s like buying your home over the internet without ever seeing it - simply baseless.It’s amazing the number of investors that buy real estate without researching their investments.

Everyone on this site offers incredible value and can help you learn more than you may otherwise realize.Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions!

AirBnB has incredible customer service if there ever is an issue.

(basic definitions)The problem here is I live in a relatively smaller city (bakersfield) in California central valley and I am not sure when if there is really that many different options and different type of contractors available down here.Maybe I should just do some research, then make an appointment witht few of contractors who pass the initial internet sceening test, show them the property and ask them for an estimate and the timeline of work.This may give me a better idea which contractor to pick.

I've been lurking for a few months and have been incredibly impressed with this community.

It's a steal, utilities, internet, everything included so it will be nearly impossible to find something to live in that I would pay less especially with 3.5% down, but yes I would be building equity.Thanks everyone for the responses and insights!

Also try the internet for Illinois specific forms.

The property appraised for 130K, and estimates from various internet sources peg it at 155k+.  

I didn't go with that lender at the time as I didn't know how to get my financial information to them and wasn't comfortable sending it via the internet.