While any licensed, insured, bonded contractor is technically allowed to do the work, unless they have been properly educated on the 203k or have vast experience with the 203k, any average contractor will NOT now the paperwork, processes, guidelines, timelines, draw process, change order process, estimate/bid format, different versions of the 203k, and most likely won't have the financials needed to pay for the upfront materials and ongoing expenses, or anything else associated with the 203k and would be basically 'winging it.'

Granted, we can’t do the phone interview, but we can educate them on the process and help them understand.

And I am currently teaching myself about real-estate so when I am ready to buy, I can make a well-educated purchase

.- Once you complete the education side of it buy additional practice tests from another company to study before the exam - Go into the exam with confidence and remember that you know everything you need to know to pass.Good luck! 

I have started to educate myself with real estate investing and I would like to dive much deeper into the field.

I'm analyzing 1 deal/day per Brandon Turners' advice and it's a wonderful education.  

Continue educating yourself and start practicing analyzing deals now.

Or there are $350,000 in liens against it and now you owe far more than the property is worth.It's not something you should go into without some serious education first.

Print out the instructions (11 pages, but you can omit page 11), read it, and highlight anything you don't understand and want to get more education on. 

I view my mistakes as educational tuition on how I can make more money on the next deal.