Rent $1550/month (Projected) Used Avalon Capital's 100% purchase & 100% rehab hard money loan.

Also did you ask the loan officer why you are falling short? 

The first broker said all banks must adhere to the requirements of conventional loans.

Been thinking about taking on a personal loan of 50-70k for purchasing power in my Midwest market, the loan would just be for down payments and closing costs on sub 85k SFH / Duplex properties.

(There are even some who believe that the seller providing a loan to the buyer will disqualify the exchange entirely, but that's not been our experience.)The most straightforward solution is to have the seller provide a cash loan to the buyer outside of closing. 

Hard Money loan through Blink lending.

There you will be asked your criteria and then after answering a few questions you will be matched with 3-5 agents or loan officers in your area.

Va loan

So should I ask about loan options or save that for deal talk?

I have brokers lining up some pre-approvals but wanted to see if anyone has had some local success with conventional financing or some type of rehab based loans.