As a viable alternative to explore with a lender, consider the advantages of a 5% down conventional loan, or even less for qualifying first-time homebuyers, which often comes with less stringent property condition requirements. 

As a landlord, that may prompt me to not renew the tenants lease hence they would have to seek alternative housing. 

True private money is a lot of times more expensive then alternative lending.

They are still a marketplace, but are working hard on transparency, data aggregation and reporting for buyers and trying to offer a nice alternative for investors who want to go the passive route.  

This is because you need to show material participation.

Most of these guys out there want to do "cost plus" contracts so that you're responsible for all the labor and material costs and they just tack on their 18 to 20% on top. 

They may be able to suggest an alternative (ie you pay some of their guys to do it after hours).

Do you plan on project managing/picking up materials/etc or hiring a GC/PM to do it all?

Alternatively, I have been researching going into section 8 to get my feet wet.

Even short comments from professionals seem like much better alternatives than my deep contemplation.