I can get a 30-year fixed loan for 6.630%.The property taxes 1,976 /year i.e. 165 per month. 

Hi Henry,I'm a licensed loan officer in Georgia, if you need help with anything up that alley, let me know! 

You just can't beat the financing available, the rate is good but the LTV (96.5% on FHA loans) is unbeatable.

I'd also be careful when using a heloc for the down payment and getting a loan on top of it due to the zero equity situation -Be safe!!

Having owned property in rockford its not a great appreciation area so getting a HELOC will probably take 5-10 years based on loan pay down and maybe some slight appreciation.

They'll loan on a rental portfolio. 

Hi Scott, you don't need to be a first time homebuyer to use an FHA loan and you don't need to be low credit (as many would suppose), but the product probably appeals most to low-credit first time buyers.

and then getting a standard mortgage after that vs. getting a construction loan to pay during the build and then convert. 

The only thing it’s difficult for is if you have multiple loans on the property.

The market is ALWAYS changing but I know at this time, seasoned investors are getting 80% LTV on DSCR in the 6% range and 90% of PP/100% of renovation if total loan does not exceed 75% of ARV for FixNFlip loans. =)