In your area I believe they may be required to have a license or be registered as a Home Improvement Contractor.

Is there a chance we might not close?

Hard to believe that this would improve the local neighborhood.

We were seeing a lot of deals in Atlanta that met the 2% rule over the past few years (I recently purchased one where I was all-in for $40K and rents were about $900/month), but these deals have now disappeared now that the market is improving and a lot of institutional investors have entered the market.Real estate is very local, and what might work in one area isn't necessarily going to work in other areas...

If you send a offer without a preapproval or proof of funds there is a good chance that the offer will be rejected.

I will execute 1-3 of the requests pro bono (but not really, since I intend for the tenant to stay and instead of re-leasing costs I am improving the property).. and then may save a couple of the requests for re-lease negotiations/price bumps/renewals etc.

Not all, of course (unless you believe that Skynet is coming) but the situation will not improve over time.And the productivity gains will be realized only by business owners and an ever-smaller circle of employees.

I'm not saying you can't find these days, but to give yourself the greatest chance of putting deals together, you should have a way to bring cash to the closing table.So, you need to investigate deal structuring on the other side -- getting financing, finding an equity partner, JV deals, etc.

No one can mitigate all risk, but I would rather have a chance at being wealthy earlier in life using debt (its what the FED does, and no matter what you think about it, or how you think it is going to end, if they flame out, I could care less if you own you property free and clear we are all in deep doo doo).If you use debt to no more than 70-75% LTV, in todays market, we could still have a correction and you would have an equity cushion.

I imagine that some first time home buyers will be thinking "Last chance to buy a house before rates go up and you are locked out forever"