I would love to flip but the guidelines for VA are pretty much like FHA so the house needs to be in good shape.

.- Rent is $1600 so usually you will use 2.5 X or 3 X rent as income guideline.

The Realtor should have an awareness of the 203k, not be afraid/scared of the 203k, know how to write the purchase contract according to HUD guidelines, and know how to "sell" the 203k to the seller and seller's agent. 

For guests staying longer than a month, what is the general guideline on the profit target?

But I just use this as a guideline, not the holy grail. 

Gambling belongs in the casinos.

Local banks in my opinion have high rates, the advantage is that they also have their own lending guidelines and can overlook a bad credit history, assuming they will carry the loan and not sell it off. 

Looking for advice on refinancing a SFH with an ADU on the lot in San Diego, CA as owner/builder who was planning on living in the ADU and renting out the front house.We went through the entire loan process, got documents signed, appraisal done, closing disclosures, etc -- and at the very end, we were told that the refi loan is getting denied because Fannie Mae guidelines don't allow for ADU's to be larger than the primary house, and the appraiser won't write it as a 2-unit because it's not zoned for such (which is understandable).

I thought there was some new guideline I was missing, so I read the article you linked from Chris Mason (thank you) and he explains the equation.  

Too much gamble to me.