The bottom line is that she (and many others) were a combination of very ignorant and very afraid. 

So bottom line for me is get an expert to help.

back in the day I actually got a million dollar line of credit in one of those areas and the bank specifically did it because we were doing business in an area they could then book as CRA without the inherent credit risk normally associated with it.. and I paid it all back and all the interest  LOL

A reasonable fee for walking properties for you and being a first-line inspector sounds fair.If you ask, they will probably discount the commission or recomp you in some way a portion of this if you buy through them. 

I wanted to drop a line as I am brand new to REI and trying to learn as much as possible.

Due to it being my pre first deal and not having a huge network yet, I don’t have other investors lined up.

These are surplus line companies and sell their product through other companies agents. 

Number of beds and baths, neighborhood, doorman or walk up, etc.

I got a home equity line of credit and bought 5 or 6 more houses. 

That said there are laws to keep everyone in line, your state might be harsh on this stuff.If you got the tenant call within the last 24 hours and you have the fix scheduled to be in the next 2 business days, I "personally" think that's reasonable, but the law is what matters. if you're within your lease and within the law, I would tell them to hold tight.