So if there 11,000 people looking and only 3,000 houses it only make sense that those 3,000 house would sell for a little more than they would under normal circumstances (sellers market currently). 

Certain lenders, such as RCN Capital, cannot and should not be trusted under any circumstance whatsoever.

It can be very expensive to get a pool back into shape after it's been neglected for a while.

For my circumstance, which loan should I use first?

I'm going to go out on a limb here as you have $5MM in buying power and I'm going through a very like circumstance right now.So long as the real estate asset was a rental property you can purchase rentals - any kind of rentals. 

Thanks @Victor Steffen Some of the articles I was reading neglected to explain the exceptions to the rule - this definitely helps clarify things!

However if circumstances change and you have a reason that you would have to move you can most certainly rent the FHA financed property out.Keep in mind you can only have one FHA loan out at a time, and you’re going to have PMI for the life of the loan so it might not be the best solution.In the Cleveland market I provide financing for a lot of people without PMI and I can do multiple investment properties for someone, but the more you borrow and the less skin you have in the game the less cash flow you’re going to enjoy.Hope that helps!

I don't think the other circumstances matter.

Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to eliminate your tax bill this year and carry over your operating losses to the future as well.

I bought a SFH about 6 months ago but due to circumstances with selling a large property it’s renovation got put on hold.