But we could not personally afford the mortgage on this place without a renter.

In person, phone, email.

I don't know anyone there personally doing it like we do, but it's something to consider.The other option, of course, is to just try and bump up your expected monthly cost from 10% to something like 12% - 15%.

This is since 1) there's no penalty for age so it doesn't matter when you use it 2) the longer the retirement asset exists the more chance it has to grow tax deferred or tax free 3)if you are retirement age then using your personal assets first will likely place you in the lowest possible tax bracket when you start drawing those funds. 

You can not 1031 exchange a personal residence.

I personally wouldn't put 75% down on a property.

It can be a great way to sell a problem property for a good price to someone who wants to own a house, has money for a down payment, but can't qualify for standard loan products. 

Usually the person in charge of marketing will do this for you and will add you to a mailing list.

The program could take a while depending on your own personal journey but it depends on how much money you have saved, how much debt you are in, what your credit is like and how consistent you are with payments etc.

However, you need to understand the process and what products are available to you, so meet with several and ask lots of questions.