Yet, when your in a different State and trying to sell your home, and you must rely on the contract that you have made with a Realtor you have spoken to on the phone and a home inspector, your choices seem limited.

I found a 2BR/1Ba but when i calculate my return investment of 7% and set myself an max. limit, i was overwhelmed by the approach of the Agent.  

Additionally, you are not limited to only three choices. 

Why would you even want to go back to what I presume is a limited number of mutual funds?

If you have a small amount of work to do, you can apply for a 203(k) streamlined loan, which limits your rehab to $35K (less in actuality due to fees). 

You'll actually get your best pricing and experience with a national company rather than an attorney with no economies of scale and limited experience. 

Holding for appreciation is fine as long as there was no or very limited personal use by you to muddy the water. 

My challenge is limited time with the demands of medical school and family.

The maximum credit will be limited to $5,000 a year.

Regarding inspections, there was a law change at the state level limiting inspections by municipalities. so yea this is pretty normal.