If all is in order it will reduce the chances that you will have disagreements in the future.

I use their interest rate and percent down to get an accurate estimate.

Hypothetically - Chances are, some houses that are listed for more than 120 days would not have been maintained well, they would be sold as-is, banks will be willing take a very low price as none turned out to buy that house - That would be something you might wholesale.Dont look for 1% rule or 2% rule when you want to wholesale.

Is there any chance of owner finance?

An estimate.

Or could you just have a line that says "Earnest Money Deposit will be held by XYZ title" and then just forward the check, so that it would have even less chance to come up.

Buying , Fixing, and Selling, 4 month time frame, (I hope)I am not a handyman, so estimating repair cost is a reach.A poster on this site suggested to use the $5K rule to estimate repair cost5k to fix/update any major house component.

It sounds like a lot of work, but someone who has experience may be willing to partner if the profit is there.The first thing you need to do is get a better estimate on comps.

In your offer to the bank I would include a contractors estimate of repairs.This lets the bank know that while your offer is low, if they want a good price they need to fix something before its sold.Several of my short sales where done this way, the first counter was high and when I asked the bank if they looked at the enclosed estimate of repairs they came back and approved the sale.

In addition, it has been my experience that those with troubled credit may have a larger chance at over-paying for a property than a prime buyer.I'll leave this post alone now because I've said my peace.