As part of your "return", take what you would normally be paying for rent and subtract your new $200 mortgage payment from that, that is essentially your return.

This is my first purchase and first time ever reaching out to contractors, but I'm not sure if some of their requests are normal.

Here in Dallas normal $100.Joe Gore

Even if they initially say they won't finance them, make sure they are checking with both their normally lending unit, and someone who might handle portfolio lending, and if they have a commercial arm that does real estate lending check there too! 

This blog is not so much of the normal type of blog where I give a narrative on a subject.

These areas have a ways to go and will require job and population normal growth before they recover back to the peak.Here's a more qualified prognosticator's take on Atlanta thru 2020.Predicting Atlanta thru 2020

No you probably shouldn't have your deposit be your entire down payment, in every market I've done the normal deposit is somewhere between 1% and maybe $10k-$15k max so unless you are doing FHA with a really low down payment it probably wouldn't make sense to have them add up to the down payment.

Showing a occupied unit works for some but even on normal circumstances I wait to show until it is vacant. 

A normal year sees both supply and demand begin to rise sharply in early January, and then reach a peak in late May.

Sounds like you've had your home inspection, and will get the normal warranty deed with title..