I had planned to use hard money to fund my first BRRRR but after speaking with a hard money lender I am reconsidering this approach due to what seems like excessive costs.

If you’re brother in law will not sign something upfront in favor of you then you may want to reconsider.

Ask for a reconsideration of value: 1. do not contact the appraiser directly, theyre not allowed to discuss the appraisal with you at all unless you ordered it directly from them but i assume you went through a bank. 2. not all appraisrs are great but theyre human and make mistakes, i work for the largest appraisal firm here and have for several appraisers, all i know WILL reconsider your value as long as you dont provide stupid comps meaning they fit criteria and arent outlandish.

But on the other hand is this something we should reconsider?

MUL, MUN, MUG, OR, CS, DTC and RM are the most common but RM is being re-considered at this point to stop issuing any further permits on. 

And if those are the neighborhoods you’re planning to focus on, that’s a whole different business model and one that you should probably reconsider because it’s not for the faint of heart and can sometimes even be difficult to find property managers willing to take on those properties. 

We are aggressively paying down student loans, but I am starting to reconsider saving the extra money every month to invest into this business instead, at least for a little while. 

The property is still available (one month later), I've followed up with the listing agent and the seller is not reconsidering other financing offers.A hard money loan isn't an option, since it will be owner occupied.

I'm actually reconsidering my options.

And honestly, even if you spent two hours with each (an attorney and CPA) would probably still cost you far less than one of those programs.I do want to add, since you mentioned auctions, that if you are a beginner I would strongly urge you to be cautious and perhaps reconsider the auction route.