@Adrian Beltran This questions is often asked in the forums... here is a "choose your own adventure" type guide to help you make the best decision for you.  

the answer is yes, but I choose not to make it so.  

A lot of people who worry about working with drywall choose instead to put in a dropped ceiling with acoustic tiles.

My question, being a non-native of Mississippi, is there a decent amount of Multifamily homes to choose from?

Your contractor is the life-blood of your business so make sure you choose one that embodies all of the above.If you are just flipping a home I do not think you will need an architect but that depends on the project.Good luck!

Subscribing to a system that allows a buyer to choose whoever they’d like to represent them and their interests, and for some reason it’s the norm for me (seller) to foot the bill for them choosing to hire someone seems counterintuitive to me.

In terms of Syndications -- there are a wide range of syndications and sponsors to choose from, with each deal having a different level of risk/return/sponsor experience AND business plan (development, value-add, etc.) 

Also why would some who has been pre qual'd to receive a conventional loan choose the HML instead?

Assuming we have the entire story here, your best bet is reporting to the contractors board, BBB, and if you choose, filing a law suit.

They then review that and choose to fund the loan or not.