With a conventional loan, you could absolutely get into a SFH and rehab it with 30-40k in the 6 month timeframe you noted.

Yes, I called piling companies and they charge no where close to 10% of overall cost.

Be careful who you pick, make sure they are a true investor and not someone who charges people for content which is already here on BP.

Then come year end you take your books to an actual professional and they charge you an extra $500 to clean it all up. 

We used conventional financing and are living in it for a year as this allowed us to put less down up front.

This used to raise the very small possibility of the bank putting you in default (Due On Sale clause....worst case scenario you have to transfer it back) but recent revisions to conventional terms have essentially eliminated this, when transferring to a single member llc.  

I actually am currently using a management company that charges $100 as a flat rate.  

I lived in a 2-family house for one year on conventional financing as my primary residence. 

We would love to do some analysis, due diligence and provide you some feedback on your portfolio free of charge. 

Also, we believe we can do a conventional loan and pay the 20% down payment but the renovation cost is what we will have trouble coming up with.