Once you find someone willing to let you shadow them, approach it with professionalism and a willingness to learn.

Id keep looking if it was not an approved short sale ( even an approved short sale takes a very very long time and theres no guarantee that you will even close on the house after months of waiting). q1)There are plenty of non traditional lenders that could offer you construction financing if the numbers make sense but it will cost you with points and a higher rate.

Myself and a friend are looking to get into investing in buying hold single-family homes.

Everyone thinks they can paint but there's a big difference between a professional paint job and a non-professional one (the latter usually actually damages the property instead of improving it). 

Risk/reward was not something I was comfortable with after looking at numbers and a few things not grandfathered in if a tenant left. 

These are professionals with additional training and a stricter code of ethics.

There are two items that you need to completely solve this problem for your rehabs: properly built Design Boards and a Finish Schedule.

And a condo can take longer to sell when you exit compared to a detached home.

You may be serviced 3 times during the storm and a final clean up and salting after the storm .

The investors that I work with find this much less risky and a much faster way to get to ROI.