If there is a lack of communication then the relationship will not work.

CRE retail has good fundamental outlook next 5-10 years due to lack of supply.

Nonetheless, it is frowned upon, competitive, and it's not something you should do alone.

We've got one right now on Chatham that's under contract on which our client should do pretty well.The $150k-$225k is popular, but sourcing due to competition is the challenge.

I spoke with a few in the past and was shut down due to my lack of upfront available funds.

Also, would y'all agree with my realtor that a new construction home is a viable path forward, considering the competitiveness of the local market? 

Have you compared it to your competition?

The advantages to those are that there are less restrictions, less competition and lower purchase price. 

It's good that smaller banks, financial institutes are competitive.

Typically speaking a 2 bedroom will bring in more if all other metrics are the same (i.e. location and amenities).In saturated and competitive markets I really do not like 1 bedroom or even 2 bedrooms as the barrier to entry is low and you will always have a lot of competition, and you are even competing with hotels at that point.Also building HOA's are scary, and Florida implemented the milestone inspection which means special assessments in most cases.Without diving deeper on all the numbers I cannot it will not make sense, but in my experience it will not make sense more times than not and it is risky.