He's still doing that for 10 years and work PERFECTLY for both of us! 

This range seems perfectly doable.

Or in the case of my area, apparently has to be a property in pristine, perfect condition...not just habitable. 

The perfect deal?

You never have to go to settlement, you never need to borrow money – as long as you are controlling real estate -  this is the highest form of areal estate leverage in the universe, ( selling something you do not own) once you perfect this system you'll make nothing but money.  

We put in a new AC unit, breaker box, roof, tore out rotted wood on the roof of the back addition, new insulation in the back room, new windows all around, all new doors, new siding, collapsed the septic tank and added a sewer line to the street, moved walls and opened walls inside, tore out the rock driveway and poured a concrete driveway, new fencing front and back, we also replaced some of the old steel plumbing with pex. 

I don't expect them to be perfect.

So, my question is would you buy a house that has an underground oil tank, that is guaranteed to have a pretty decent ARV?

They're not all perfect and some have a lot of issues but many are solid.

The layout of this home was perfect for both.