But know that things will go wrong and don't let the fear of that stop you from getting started or pressing forward.Seek and nurture relationships not transactions

Back in the day the guy that mentored me carried around a stamp it had "15%" on it.

If you do get that waiver then it is a standard condo loan and shouldn't carry any premium.I guess what I am trying to tell you is that you are being played with.

My fiancé owns 5 rentals and doesn't carry insurance on any of them.

Thomas S said "A vacant unit is hands down better than any bad Tennant" He is right if you are not carrying a note and need the cash flow to survive.

You may need a non conforming product which often carry less desirable terms due to the close proximity of the short sale. 

An astute seller might not want to carry a note for a long period of time in fear of an emergency that might come up.

I had been in talks with a rehabber in my area who uses hard money lenders to fund his projects and we were to be doing a fix and flip this month, so I went ahead and got myself a $10k loan to throw into the mix to cover carrying costs.

He has the entire knowledge and experience necessary to carry out this project from scratch to finish, with track record. 

You might carry a balance a few months at 5.5%, but all you have to pay in interest.