To be frank if your credit score is low the biggest hurdle will be your preapproval amount because it may not be enough to afford a property that meets FHA guidelines or your standards for living there.

I don't think that is unreasonable at all for the stats you listed.

That's up to your lender...but if you commute is unreasonable then you may qualify. https://www.google.com/url?

@Omar Khan From the way @Christopher Phillips described it, I think the objection regarding "quiet" is a lender's legal department being overly - and I think unreasonably - cautious.As to describing neighborhoods, I might say "look at the condition of the surrounding homes". 

I don't think its unreasonable for you to pick up your first note in 90 days. 

Without selling, I want to tap into some of it for investing purposes, but I've got the good old favorite DTI hurdle that's preventing me from more easily accessing it from a conventional lender (I checked with a credit union already).

It is a big hurdle to get over the fear, but dont get too smug just yet.

I keep going back and forth on a small apartment complex in Westport, and my biggest hurdle seems to be a lack of seemingly reliable prop mgmt in that area.

Unfortunately the bank loan market has become really tough, with the banks tightening restrictions, imposing difficult metrics to deal with and applying commercial rates and fees to my property.I've been able to get a basic commercial loan offer, not what I wanted, but what I could get.  1m loan, 5% fixed rate, 5 year term, 1.25% fees and legal up front, and a lot of paperwork and hurdles to overcome yet to ensure I actually get the loan approved.  

One of the biggest hurdles for your readers is trust, and your current phrasing could improve through clearer and more confident phrasing.