Also a third option: partner on deals with a builder/contractor so that you have a solid idea of your cost per sq ft when making offers. 

Wind, Flood, tornado, Hail, or third party damage or theftcan still occur.

The first two were through USAA, and the third was a VA Refi IRRL through NBKC.

You do want to be sure that you aren't paying a markup on the third party reports, but those seem standard, depending on the size of the property and location (seismic is often only done in certain areas).5.

Second, was a strong national broker (Marcus & Millichap) and third, a local NAI broker.  

Third: Do you guys know any lenders that are friendly to a similar scenario as this and would recommend? 

For the third floor master bedroom I was also considering stain resistant seamless carpet but am also thinking about putting down LVT there too.What do you guys think?

In order to complete the exchange the funds had to have been placed in escrow with a qualified third party. 

They’ve just released their list of first, second, and third offerings, and after scouring nearly 600 pages of offerings, I’ve found a handful of properties that seem interesting enough to invest in: ie, not along a river that is known to flood, not some weird 20 square foot triangle of land between neighborhoods, and not a $20k property with $100k in taxes owed on it.

I third the biggerpockets reference.