You should serve papers immediately.

Do either of you send a paper stating what qualifications are required to be accepted along with the application to an interested applicant or is it more of a verbal notification? 

There are other ways.You need to scuff sand the trim by hand with 100-grit paper.

.(*) Rough plumbing - waiting on his plumber to estimate but he thinks $4,000 which was one item I was a bit suspect of because basically you have a bathroom in the basement with laundry beside it, kitchen above it, and bathroom above it, basically all straight up and down in a small house and this is not including bathroom vanities, toilets, etc.(*) Flooring -  $8400 - we didn't actually finalize anything I'm not sure what materials he was planning all over, but I think wood floors in the top 2 levels and engineered wood in the basement, tile in bathrooms and kitchen area (very small). 

Beyond that, you can swap out the toilet, vanity, and light fixtures (if they are simple). 

On paper it looks good, but in a real life scenario projections might be different:-the third R, refinance could be possible if good credit and debt to income ratio are satisfactory...since many aspiring investors are far from that, what are the alternatives?

I'll add a wrinkle to the park money in a home vs. a REIT (or any other paper asset).One thing you need to consider is your investment timeline, risk tolerance, and current asset diversification.

Then I realized that each paper threatening eviction had clear instructions to buy from a specific company if they didn't have proof of insurance.

Or commercial printers rigging the paper cutter safety switch to free up one hand so they can work a bit faster.

If you wish to unilaterally pull credit (with a paper authorization) I believe you will need to get a site inspection and jump through a few hoops at your business.