I may get my bank to lend me the money for the improvements as well.Once I have the C of O, it will probably be winter. so I anticipate having to carry. 

Carry on...

This is where we bring in Tenant Liability Insurance, which you can force tenants to carry just like renters insurance, but for us, we pay their policy as far of the rent as it's just $9.50 per lease, which gives us $100,000 Legal Liability for damage to Landlord’s property. 

There are all kinds of charts online for beams and how much they carry. 

Then you get longer term permanent financing after the property is stabilized.I do find the idea that the seller is willing to carry back 100%.

Downside is you will have to carry PMI and also live in the property for 14 days or 10% of the time it is rented.

You MUST claim in it 2018...even it at the very minimum it get's carried over as a roll over non-operating loss in 2019. 

But if you read/practice then they will find you golds ..Once you make 50 written offers then probably you will get a deal.

When top agents have 10 to 20 files go at any one time a TC is worth their weight in gold..

Harvey was an example of such a hurricane that affect many areas of town that was not in the 100 or 500 year flood plain thus many homeowners did not carry flood insurance.