Materials can be easily quoted, but it is the labor that can be shady along with a mark up for, "incase of emergencies."  

Both of these loan programs can get you into a home with as little as 3% down, which would give you some additional capital/reserves for improvements after purchase, or a larger contingency/emergency fund, or a good place to start on your next home. 

My wife and I keep most of our money in Ally for the interest rates but we want a local bank to keep emergency cash in, get cashier's checks from, etc. 

Plenty of different methods to save up for a DP and establish a emergency fund.

It is within driving distance for you, which can be very helpful if you want to check on the property, if you have an emergency or if you are planning on using the property occasionally yourself (which most people do, it's a great perk of owning a home on the beach).

Using a cash advance to purchase might be okay if you have the funds or at least some of the funds and can pay off the loan immediately in an emergency, but I think it's a terrible idea and a recipe for disaster if there are no emergency funds available and you can't get financing or even afford insurance. 

I have my own ideas, but I think we will see some new leaders emerge and some previously leaders lag.

If it's because you had good credit, faced an emergency medical issue, maxed out your cards, but are working to pay them back, then they very well might.  

When I got a approved an family emergency presented and I notified my Realtor that I was not able to move in, the contract stated that if I terminated the contract early I was responsible for a penalty up to 2 month of the lease amount, I negotiated down with the landlord to have the last month of penalty reduced and she agreed.

Looking for emerging real estate markets outside of the expensive CA market.