Where do I need to be careful and what should be clarified in the deal/contract?. 

Be careful of Stockton. 

Hey Eric,If you've bought the property and already have a trusted tenant-in-waiting, plus a year-long lease agreement prepared, that's the B and one of the big Rs taken care of.

Properties that I take care of for my clients are either house # or I have names for some of them, not all are good names haha Ghost house, roach house, flea bag, etc

In the end, I agreed to pay cash to speed up the purchase and rent back the SFH to seller for up to 3 months (most home buyers won't do that, but I don't care as a remote investor).  

There is almost no grounds to take care of except 2 trees.

Did you get a promotion where your job has you traveling 50% of the time leaving you unable to take care of the larger house?

Care to DM?

They will only give you up to 75% or 80% of what you purchased the house for.If you are NOT doing any rehab and not trying to build your portfolio super quick, then use the delayed financing option assuming your interest on your HELOC is less than what you could get a private lenders interest for.If you are doing any work to the house, use a private lender or if the numbers make sense and you'll have enough equity (be careful, be 100% sure the appraisal will come back at what you think on the refi). 

Just be careful who you hire as a contractor.