I have dealt with many FHA buyers in the past, yet, I have experienced very little resistance as described in this thread.

I've followed a couple experienced investors such as JScott.

you have to look at what it costs for the hard and soft costs (plans/permits/engineering and materials/labor) plus the cost of the land. 

Then I suggest you live in it a while building some cash and experiencing the house.

Like I said, I own one property so this would be my first ever cash out refinance (I realize that financing like this is not easy to get these days - but I will look into that after I make a decision to go forward or not), so was hoping I could get some more experienced insight.

I have used a credit partner with the following terms and it worked well for both parites*Credit partner purchases property in their name and immediately transfers to LLC*50/50 owners per LLC operating agreement*Each partner fronts 50% of down payment and any renovation that is needed.Its a great way for an experienced investor to add a property without another loan in his/her name and a great way for a new investor to learns the ropes from an experienced investor.

As far as buy and hold properties, I've found that all investors (experienced ones at least) will care about is the total cost of rehab and purchase price, which they most likely will not rely on you for that value.

What are you experiencing in your area of the real estate market?

There are many, many strategies you can employ including some where you are not a deed holder, but simply using your funding to supply an experienced investor with capital for a short period of time.

I have had properties for over 20 years and never experienced anything like this.