My question: is it cheaper to go conventional with more down vs FHA with 3.5% and for some reason I ended up costing me a lot more this time around......any help or advice would be appreciated, I feel very stupid for making this bad move on my end.

your post is another reason to Hire a Property Manager, they know what to do and how to follow it through according to the law, the Laws are changing quite rapidly its hard to stay current, thats what a PM is for its there job to stay current.

The assumption that a leak directly above was causing lumber in the wall to rot seemed reasonable, but even without the leak, I don't think any of us would have expected a foundation issue like this. 

The very reason for a generic rule of thumb.LOL Thought Id post my expense averages over the years and remind folks that a 10% PM fee is way too low at least until occupied and stabilized.

do you have to finalize the sale by December for this reason?  

For that reason, I think investing out of state with a turnkey provider is better. 

The reason many loans are not available to LLCs is that loans are sold to the secondary market and that is one of the rules of most secondary buyers - no commercial loans.

I've gotten quotes in the range of $3500 but continue to call local providers until I can find a company with a more reasonable rate. 

I can understand some reasoning for this. 

Reason is that it's a turnkey solution.