My father in law is a loan officer for a major builder and he says their biggest struggle is finding good and reliable contractors to build the homes. 

Keep saving towards a down payment and establishing a reliable source of income.

I work on the behalf of institutional clients that are seeking to buy single family homes in the Kansas City market.Would greatly appreciate being put in touch with reliable and established contractors in the area - thank you!

But, if you qualify for other financing, such as conventional, or even 2nd home or rental financing, you will be able to place a more competitive and more reliable offer, and it will open up more investing options. 

Once you have a solid team, streamlined processes/systems and a really reliable general contractor, then, at that point, by all means jump in.

Note that I wrote “fund” not “make a decision.”Similarly, are you 110% reliable?

When looking for reliable passive income, you don't want to be an operator's test guinea pig.

NO Facebook ad will reliably work if you do not resonate with a motivated seller.

I guess my issue is not knowing which ones are "legit" and worth approaching vs ones that are not very professional or reliable.

Consider how difficult it may be at this time to find reliable tradesmen to complete the job.