But if you are bringing a lot of equity to the table in terms of the land cost, you may be able to get the bank to pay some funds up front as long as you keep your loan to cost ratio underneath the bank's requirements (usually 70% to 80%).If your dirt is cheap, you will need to bring the first draw to the table so that the bank is only paying for completed work.Typically we do around 8 draws. 

Therefore I spent probably 5K more on that house just in terms of buying stuff that a rehab team or PM company would already have (or the contractors would), even though I saved on the labor technically.

Also in terms of PMI for the FHA loan, keep in mind that you can refinance.

It is about 20mins walk from my area.I've been looking on listsource.com to see how my neighborhood was doing in terms of homes with equity.

There's a lot of real estate investment activity in my immediate and extended family, but this is pretty new to me in terms of buy-and-hold, flipping, etc. 

In terms of the path/niche I am considering, I am considering multi-units with a buy & hold strategy.

@Chris Callaghan The best thing I look for is a track record and testimonials from people they have helped already...Not that testimonials can guarantee they can help you, but it gives you some confidence...Thank God for the internet, it is hard to pop up in business without telling people your story about how you got started doing what you do, and if you have no track record then you have some explaining to do, if you can really can do what you can do...the beauty of Financing and Funding is if you are really good at getting companies funded you don't have to advertise...You will have people lining up to send you clients to get funding for...In my experience their is no new funding out here, and most follow very similar guidelines in terms of what lenders are looking for...Bottom line I look for is track record...

I am planning to maximize and utilize this time to educate myself, understand the market trends in terms of incline/decline of housing volatility (mortgage perspective), job movements, and social/economic/political factor that influences in the RE market.

for me have done the best in terms of cash flow and fixing and flipping.   2 to 3 bedroom homes with minimal work.   

Plus - With me working a full time job and being the busiest part of our year ; I don't think a situation could get too much more ideal in terms of practicality (already rented; zero repairs and not fantastic but decent equity (13%)