Just to throw out an idea, having lawn maintenance people you can trust is a great way to keep eyes in a property.  

I was wondering if anyone had ideas of research questions that would be helpful/relevant for people currently working in this field.

The reason to be selective with realtors for flips is they can give you a good idea of what the after renovation value will be.

Based on what I know, I think this is a bad idea.2) Skip the grant money and just bolt and brace the existing exterior walls.

I like the idea of capping the amount you will pay. 

@Antoine MartelGreat idea sir!

No idea how those are going to turn out, but I will pass.  

3) I'd go with Vacancy of 8.33% as this will mean you save up one month of rent every 12 months, 4) 3% repairs seems low, if it were me I'd at least bump it up to 5%, and 5) even though you plan to live there and self-manage there may come a day where you want/need to outsource management of your properties so it's usually a good idea to budget for management costs like @Doug Shapiro was saying.

What are some ideas for tapping into that -- which would include reasonable terms (not interested in hard money, e.g.)?

Kyle Lewis Thank you, that's a good idea.