Once approved, it looks like they are pretty competitive on their rates.

Yes, I know I should not be doing that but my competition does it all the time and that’s why their houses are priced much cheaper …do you think Builder’s risk insurance will cover if an uninsured worker gets injured on my property ?

Competition raised rent so fast, that my unit fell behind by 3-400/mo.

Most people go for the higher interest rates making the competition very stiff. 

Your statement that this is an REO (which likely means it's on the MLS and thus exposed to all the local competition), as well as the fact that you're a newbie tells me you are way off on this deal.  

This industry weeds them out pretty quick.. its capital intensive, good deals are competitive as hell and most folks just frankly do not have the entrepreneurial skills it takes to create your own business and run it successfully...

I am in wholesaling, rent to own and other creative forms of financing because it suits my personality (highly competitive and in need of constant stimulation).I believe, however that buy and hold investing is far and away the best and most reliable method of building wealth compared to wholesaling and flipping.

Calculate your project net cash flow after all expenses are paid set a minimum amount for what the net cash flow should be to determine what purchase price you can look at.Both are pretty competitive right now so you'll need to research.

Personally, I would try to find a competitive advantage other than price.Maybe your competitive advantage could be that since you are a small management firm, you are able to give your clients more personal (and thus better) customer service than they would get with some of the bigger property management companies.

Maybe the competition there is slack, good luck!