I have been toiling over investing in DST 1031 Exchange vs cashing out by paying capital gains. I have read many DST PPM's and have come to conclusion the Sponsors are the only one that can reliably profit from these ...

The retirement/financial independence equation he uses is a paid off primary home, 500k in liquid assets (usually retirement, cash, and after tax brokerage account), and more than 1 source of income (part time job, real estate, social security for those of that age, dividends, etc.).

You can use an amortization table to figure out about how much is left on the original loan based on how long the DOT has secured the property.     

Most 100% lenders will lend at 100% UP TO 70% ARV, which is tough to secure.

Any advice on how I go about securing financing for less than $100k?

You typically don't want to do any renovations before the 2 years is up...just basic safety and securing the property.#4. 

She only received social security income, no other income.1.

For investment properties you should be using private/hard money lenders, but if it's a primary or you have a long window of time to secure the financing then traditional may be the way.Overall, it should be easier to get approved via creative financing though as there are options and workarounds for nearly every scenario (they just may cost more the more creative you need to get).

It can also be a professional company that uses private money to do loans, and gets investors, as opposed to government secured loans.

a are a vacant house, the minute its mine I change out all locks and secure the premise.