If you are looking for a loan product that the lender is not offering then you won't get the loan.

There are also opportunities to buy a single family residence home that has an ADU that you can buy with 0% down products (contact @Grant Schroeder).

As an additional layer, many times the advice provided can have a goal of selling a product, like insurance or asset management.

I have contacted three different lawyers, but have either been told they would get back to me or have been outright ghosted. 

Personally, I haven't had any good experiences with the loan product.

I relocated from FL back to my lovely homeland of Chicago, thought I had a place through Facebook Marketplace, & got ghosted as I drove here.

If this Contractor likes you, you like him - and trust him and he works well for you (great quality, consistent scheduling) then I would stick with him because you found the needle in the haystack.So rather than try to lower your prices/quality, why not become the Investor that people know will provide that kind of quality and service and charge top dollar for your product?

Just think of the opportunity cost involved.Using the down payment assistance program - 1 owner occupied property in 5 yearsUsing different low payment programs each year - 5 properties in 5 years using FHA, VA, Home Possible, ARM products for 5-10% down, 97/3 Conventional for a SFH.

Your strategy should be to get your "product"( Your 3-month listing) in front of as many eyeballs as possible, generate as many leads as you need, qualify the leads, then pick the highest-paying, lowest-risk tenant you can find. 

Loan products don't change while in process.