Finding another contractor, cutting costs somewhere in the job, and finding cheaper money (doing it all cash). 

As you probably know commercial lending on CRE is not the easiest task right now, then add all the complications to it...foreign buyer, new LLC, new bank accounts, etc and that probably cuts out a lot of lenders who will be interested.Also find out what their goals are to determine if what they want is even feasible. 

How are you filtering opportunities down to a manageable list if the 1% rule isn’t cutting it?

You’ll also pay transaction fees disposing the asset, likely in the $40k+ range.I don’t think you have a clear-cut answer here, but you’ll need to rack up all the financial trade-offs to make an informed decision.

Would rather have these renters than my buddy’s who used a chainsaw to cut the sink out when they left.  

With short term rentals, you tend to take a larger cut as there are many things involved in the day to day upkeep, think 12-25%.

It’s flexible and can help you fund deals quickly.Lease Options: Similar to “rent-to-own,” you control a property with minimal upfront costs and can potentially get a cut of the appreciation if you decide to buy it later.Lines of Credit: If you already own a property with equity, a HELOC or business line of credit can give you accessible funds for down payments or renovation costs.House Hacking: This might sound basic, but if you haven’t tried it, it can be a fast track to building up rental income and experience without a ton of cash down.

Start cutting the favoritism, the golden net's, remove hurdles for small business launch, remove corporate favoritism and watch things correct themself. 

If you have a high paying job it sounds like you may need to focus on cutting some expenses.2) Depends on what your current mortgage rate and LTV is.

Instead of cutting your market in half, I recommend finding ways to allow pets while reducing risk and increasing income.I allow fish tanks up to 20 gallons (275 pounds).