How bad is the insurance, how high are the property taxes, is there an Hoa, etc etc. 

I know that this is a big risk property but I believe that it has the potential for high return if I can get all of this permitting and renovation work figured out on the front end.I'm just looking for any advice on how to cover myself on the front end prior to making an offer and how to expedite the work so that I can get renters in and start recouping on the investment as soon as possible.

There are several lenders that will lend 80% of the appraised value, but for that high leverage point, most (if not all) lenders will require an appraisal. 

Granted this primarily filters out the small deals or the highly leveraged deals, neither of which I do, but making 20% on a ARV 150k house is $30k. 

Real estate syndication investing is still quite valuable as it can offer higher Returns than investing in public REITs but not as high returns as direct ownership and management of real estate by some experienced people, but with the benefit of being far more passive, than direct ownership/management. 

Sadly, this price-gouging behavior has become the unfortunate new norm in the insurance industry.There's a high likelihood you'll need a broker familiar with surplus lines.  3 weeks isn't much time - if you aren't working with someone already you need to get in touch with someone asap.

Quote from @Vikas Jain: Yes, I have already seen the buy-in, im less concerned about that part of it, but just want to make sure its legitimate (plenty of opportunities where buyin is high but it doesn't always mean the product is good, just been burned in the past by others so trying to do better due diligence this time around)Their success rate, as of now, is 100 percent.

The overhead to start a company is low, but the cost to scale is high. 

I have family in Houston, Dallas, and the Valley, I was networking with brokers in San Antonio, but the Taxes seem to be quite high as well in that State, although much favorable laws/regs on the landlord side.

And diversification is a powerful tool in risk mitigation.