Its a tiny loan for any institution.You'll have to get hard bids from a local GC, but maybe $110/ft?

In addition to conventional loans and FHA loans, if either you or your wife are veterans, the VA also has a rehab program.I'd be happy to discuss my rehab experience both as an investor and as a mortgage broker, and at least help you think through your options. 

Most mortgage companies will not call loan due if payments are current but you do run that risk and need to be prepared to payoff or refi at a moments notice.

(Auctions and foreclosures can also provide great leads.)With $20K, hard money loans are a practical option, as they emphasize a property’s ARV over your financial history.

A combination of these things?

We decided I’d utilize an FHA loan to buy my first property.

If you are moving from your SFR to another property, then you should be able to get a 5% down loan or even 3% if it's FHA.  25% is only if you won't be living in the property in my experience.

100% VA loan, which allowed me to put money saved towards renovations.How did you add value to the deal?

I they accepted an offer of $118K from my brother but since he couldn't get the loan, we're starting over.

You can easily cancel a listing, the property can sit for months because of market conditions and unrealistic expectations, buyer can fall out because of a bad loan or issues with the property.