Obviously when markets have begun there fall flipping is a very bad idea.

If you are concerned about the rate, just ask the loan officer what choices you have to get a lower rate.

I really like this idea of having a place to use when I want and 4.89% isn't a bad return for zero work. 

As an agent, I would only think its a waste if I have a client who wants to submit a lot of lowball offers and the response from the offers is bad for my reputation or hurts my client's chances of getting an accepted offer. 

Otherwise you begin to justify bad business decisions.

Also, would doing a house hack with a friend be a good or bad idea?

I see most hard lenders are for 12 months, which is not bad I guess, however I would like at least 2 to 5 years to give their money back in full.

Based on your scenario, an excellent choice may be @Daniel Hyman who works with investors across the country.

I hate to be the barer of bad news but financing you very first flip is one of the very worse things you could do simply because of murphy's law and if anything goes wrong with your flip you are still on the hook for paying back your loan and once you get a black make on your credit it will take years to erase that off your record if at all.

Not sure if the condition is so bad they wouldn't lend on it now?