A full-recourse loan can really alter your perspective on risk tolerance!

You can then rebid, however as you stated it brings other potential bidders into play-Keep in mind that you cannot alter the property in any way or do any repairs prior to closing. 

Some firms will not alter the bids much based on turn time.

There will always be alterations to your goals, I don't expect it to go as planned.

Rising the floor 6-8" seems a bit too much, current slope should be around 2-3% (translated to a max of ~1.5"-2.0" against the wall/door).4.

.; or, 2) an addition, alteration, renovation, or repair to an existing single family residence owned and occupied by myself and located on the property listed on Page 1; or, 3) a new structure that will be physically separate from, but that will be deemed part of, an existing single family residence that is owned and occupied by myself and located on the property listed on Page 1.

I would also prefer to buy in a town with good schools which I think will translate into good steady renters in the future.

Those savings translates to big money if added up.

If it's FHA that is an owner occupied loan.FHA does allow some gifts for the down payment from family members but not from a seller.That is a loan plain and simple which alters qualifying for FHA.

Anyways - I have no idea if there's a service that will translate the podcast to written material at the moment.