In some instances the estimate may be less important but rarely if ever do I not see a requirement for no appraisal unless the value is 4x the loan amount.

This will affect things like required down payment, rates, and even which lending institutions would be willing to finance. i encourage you to look up warrantability for financing just so that you don't have surprisses when your 20% down buyer cannot finance that way.

You prpobably don't care about Ohio, but their requirements might be instructive.You can only file January 1 through March 31.

If they are pre forecloure/foreclosure, probate, or lists that require fast access to the lead to gain an advantage how new is the list and are the leads already on the prominant platforms like Propstream and Propwire?

This attorney should handle creation of your PPM and state filing requirements, but they do not handle the PSA or closing. 

The vast majority of properties at their available prices will not meet this requirement.  

The real prohibitive costs come from the legal, compliance, and reporting requirements of registering a security.

If you have equity and decent credit, a conventional Fannie Mae HomeStyle (or the Freddie Mac version) would likely be the better option instead of an FHA 203k loan (which will require a 3rd party HUD consultant to oversee the deal in addition to having the contractor involved). 

A partnership requires three things to be successful - Experience, Capital and Time.It looks like you have the capital and experience but maybe not the time.I have my doubts about this working if you have a friend who has weak credit and a limited cash flow.

Depending on how it is done and what guarantees the government offers and requires of the released entities, interest rates could move slightly higher.