I don't know her, never met her, never went to her classes, but from what I saw on YouTube she seemed to know her stuff and classes were reasonable. 

@Lilly Fina 2 years living as a household is reasonably stable.

You may be able to get into a reasonably priced house hack in these markets and benefit from some nice appreciation.

Any recommendations to get honest and reasonable estimates and get the work done.

Is this reasonable or do I need more money?

Yes, there are exceptions for significant life events (job change), but each individual must meet the FHA loan qualifications on their own, and the second loan must be for a valid reason, like a job relocation or other extenuating circumstances.

The reason cited is that since we aren’t performing the renovations, we aren’t exposed to these risks.For those who actively flip, what type of liability / E&O insurance do you carry to protect against these risks?

I wasn't really sure how it would pop up, but don't see a reason to risk things and complicate my cash-out.

There has to be an existing reason. 

I totally hear you on wanting confidence you're getting the *best* deal when there can be multiple that look good (this was actually the reason I built a tool that scans and analyzes every new property on the market so I knew I was getting the best of the best!).