They countered and we met them in the middle at 15% under, and then negotiated an additional $15k off during inspection, so total discount was around $150k off list price/ what they paid in 2022.

The lender did everything wrong in this situation and now are paying for it.Now they are trying to sell the loan at a slight discount (oh did I say its a 0% interest loan and they jacked up the UPB of the loan instead of adding interest) - again another rookie mistake. 

(So unless they sell for much more than they paid they will only get a small percent of their down back, especially after selling costs,) but you did say they were getting a discount.

I am thinking the Pros of the HELOC/HEL are a faster closing, perhaps a cash discount for the purchase, no PMI, lower rate/cheaper closing?

The last 5 deals I bought were all basically move in ready, bought only at a slight discount after deals fell through. 

New construction properties can qualify for significant insurance discounts, but otherwise, I generally expect insurance in this area to run a little over 1% of the property’s value if it’s in decent condition.Feel free to DM me if you’d like a good insurance contact to shop around for a better rate.

For what it's worth, we offered our homes at a discounted rate for a former guest who was looking for a place to stay. 

I still have plenty time left saving but when the time comes I’ll either be looking into conventional  loans, or some type of remodel loan to pay for the repairs of the property I am looking to fix up, because as far as I’ve seen so far it’s hard to find a good deal starting out unless you buy it as discounted as possible and put some sweat equity into it, let me know your thoughts on that ur possible.

So the best solution is to buy a house needing extensive renovation for cheap and use that discount to change the layout when you bring it up to living standards. 

I have the ability to find properties that all in costs including rehab and purchase would only be 70 to 80% or ARV on properties. due to this I have been trying to find lenders that allow for less down and rehab coverage since the properties are so discounted.