I hope these 203K loans have gotten easier now ( I doubt it) but I would speak with a mortgage lender that has experience doing these loans. 

I am open to any lender recommendations from those that have done the same.  

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I think my only option would be a private money lender, does anybody have any thoughts?

Here is a link to a REI networking event hosted by a local hard money lender I can recommend: https://noblemortgage.com/events/houston-real-estate-social/Quote from @Detrick Bell: Goodmorning BP family,I’m just now starting out my REI journey & I wanted to connect with those who are investing in the Houston market.

The interest is accumulated when borrowing money from the lender.

When it is legitimate, it is used to cover costs on the lenders side.

Broaden the scope of your search to encompass alternative property categories or localities that hold comparable promise for investment or house hacking.

BP has a hard money lender directory organized by state: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Things for the most part are back to normal and have been a while compared to the pandemic but the c and d grade crowd got killed during that.