Believe that within your market, that integrity will eventually stand out and put you ahead of the competition.

The most competitive one from an interest rate standpoint is the Fannie Mae Homestyle Renovation loan.

this is carefully designed by airbnb as  competitive information

You will be prolly buying in a different platform and price range, as to not be in competition with one another.

its a bad time to be a buyer because prices are high and there is lots of competition, my last 3 flips (since Jan 1st 2017)  have been on market 10 days or less before an AO now is not a great time to buy, there are deals, but they are few and far between. 

Shop around and let them know to give you their most competitive bid because you will be shopping.

If the market is a competitive one, like mine is, what is more important is having the lender who can and will close the deal seamlessly, and on time.  

And this is absolutely what I'll do if I end up in competition, but I sort of feel that even at $149,500 that's not a bad deal so would they really go a lot lower?

"Nothing quite in this area" is probably a bad sign - I know it may seem like a lack of other short-term rentals means a lack of competition, but it may also mean a lack of demand.

SD is very competitive and holding for appreciation while likely taking a loss in the short term is not the strategy I am trying to pursue at the moment.