FannieMae Homestyle Renovation Loan Restriction

[Shannon K.]

Hi everyone. As I keep searching for lending options for my investment property, a friend sent me some information on a Fannie Mae Homestyle Renovation loan that investors are qualified for. There is only 1 local bank I've found here in Buffalo that offers this type of loan. The terms looked pretty good with purchase price & rehab allowed and for much less than the cost of hard money... til I hit another roadblock:

Investors cannot perform the renovations themselves! (My business partner is in the construction/remodeling industry and flips 50-60 units per year at his job so we'd love to do the work ourselves). 

Since no one at the branches or mid-level knew the story regarding this stipulation, calling to the top of the management chain revealed I can only choose from a list of 5-6 bank-approved contractors that I can have do the work FOR ME. What is the point of this?? This offers absolutely zero benefit to me as an investor if I can't perform the work myself. Is anyone else experiencing this with Fannie Mae Homestyle Renovation loan or know a way around this?