Quote from @Daron Williams: I just invested in a tax deed here in texas it was a beautiful lot right on lake sam rayburn. i have it on the market for sale the only problem is you have to have two lots to build on.. i found the person that owns the lot to the right of me and there willing to possibly sale there lot the only problem is i dont have the money or the credit  to purchase it.

As long as the rents can cover both the current PITI and proposed P&I payment, credit is at least 680. you should be able to qualify. 

We have no debt and good credit scores, do we have any options for making this work?

Go wtih what works - but intelligently.We offer a free month of rent, but to avoid desperate people, we credit 50% towards their 2nd month (to make sure they can afford 1st month rent + SD) and then credit the other 50% the 5th month.

If you are looking at FHA because of credit score, then I would work on credit scores to qualify for conventional financing or see if you can get a very strong coborrower with high scores.  

It will likely still continue being a difficulty.You mentioned bills, are they credit card bills?

What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.?

I've been self-employed for only 6 months, and loans are proving difficult to come by despite my great credit (not to brag, I'm moreso frustrated and seeking help).

They use a credit system where they give free skip tracing for 250 numbers+250 emails+250 email sends (which is nothing) then you are paying .08c for 1 number or email or address.

They could even hire you to do the work on the house and instead of paying you they could just give you a credit at closing.