I communicated that I was preparing to take a loss on the flip and she agreed to list for a 1% commission.

A house can pass inspection but once someone is living there it's being put under daily stress (faucets turned on/off, heat/AC on an off, etc) so be prepared for repair costs 

Since I am a beginner, do I not venture into STR just yet?

We want to be prepared if they try to stay past the lease end date. 

I communicated that I was preparing to take a loss on the flip and she agreed to list for a 1% commission.

With the increased competition among sellers, it’s crucial to prepare a listing to stand out among the rest and work to address buyer objections prior to going on market.

You can also see if you can joint venture in a LLC with a private lender

So be prepared for a lot of rejection. 

I had been prepared to just get conventional financing. but if I need to  go another route, does anyone have any suggestions?

Really appreciate the words of wisdom and you sharing the challenges others have faced so I can learn from their experiences.I'm probably putting the cart before the horse here given I still have a lot of educating myself to do, especially across market analyses to lock in my strategy, until I feel fully prepared to move forward with anything.