Anyone have any experience with using this program, trying to decide if its worth my $2000 or if its something I can easily do on my own.

You can just approach the seller (or their agent) as a private party and make an offer, either 3% lower or whatever you think will make the deal work for both parties.....Now if you want to acquire some RE knowledge, I suppose it couldn't hurt to have a license....and it will give you a small amount of credibility (not much, it is not hard to get a license)I think you can gain the knowledge just as easily by just starting to buy and sell properties...... 

I can/could easily make that off a new spec house and more.

You can easily get audited and caught for mortgage fraud for putting in a 12 month lease.  

I'm finding our market is going through kind of a strange shift right now where construction costs can easily outpace RE values depending on the type of property.

(Don't be weirded out that I figured out where you live so easily. 

. ++ The best part about STR is that it can be self managed from a distance very easily if you choose the right market.

Yet, you easily determine to think that your elders, your seniors, DON'T Have To Matter That Much in your daily lives.

Hey mate,Sorry to hear about your troubles but it's not too uncommon.I've been in the turnkey biz for 10+ years now and have often been called the "bad guy" as we only sell to investors looking to purchase with cash.Many believe that because we only accept cash buyers, that we inflate the properties price which definitely isn't accurate.Quite on the contrary when looking back I feel that we under sold them lolWe can justify every one of our property prices with a CMA independent of our in-house sales.Whoever believes that financing a turnkey property makes it safe is wrong.Most turnkey providers or affiliates push the financing model (Even in today's high interest environment) to make more sales.They have "in-house" lenders or community banks that they establish relationships with and promise large volumes in loans.This in return get's rewarded with various favors and many are easily able to manipulate appraisals.Having flipped over a thousand properties, I know how easily an appraisal can be manipulated so for anything reading, "NO", financing a turnkey property doesn't necessarily make you purchase it for fair market value.To answer your question:When S#%@ hit's the fan like it did for you with this deal, I personally would always look to cut my losses and move on smarter and more experienced.Granted, over the years I have witnessed many investors buy 1-2 properties from my company and expect miracles only to get disappointed. 

Many of can help you find this a home relatively easily provided there isn't some hair you aren't making us aware of on your post.Cheers!