That extra room in my budget could give me a lot more choice as the buying & selling season heats up, and I'd be in a much stronger position as a cash buyer.

If you are a seasoned investor and are buying low priced properties it may work here and there, but to assume that it will automatically give you a competitive advantage is a litte naive and stems probably for superficial understanding of how it works. 

I've noticed that investors from states with arid climates don't always account for wood rot & vegetation growth.

The popcorn is not there primarily for decoration or to deaden sound from above, although there was a time (late 70s, early 80s) when a lot of people did think that a sprayed-on popcorn ceiling finish was the classy thing to do in your house, along with swag carpeting, puke-green toilets, whole-wall murals, painted representations of wood down the sides of your station wagon, and those forever leaking waterbeds.So when you commit to scraping off a popcorn ceiling, you have to accept that you're probably going to find an additional problem under it.

NO SEASONING requirements.

We already have lease agreements signed for Jan, Feb, March 2020/2021 (high season) which is why we aren't thinking of 1 year leases. 

(The first bank also has a 6-12 month seasoning period, case by case basis, according to the loan officer.)

There seem to be some deals in 4 season cottages that would be cash positive if rented short term on Air BNB or VRBO.

No Seasoning RequirementsLoan programs include 5/1, 7/1, 10/1 and 30 yr fix rate.Need a quick turnaround we can close your loan in 20 days!

ARV is approx 450k according to recent comps, maybe a little more since it will be rennovated (i will do alot of the work bc i am a contractor/plumber)  So my question is, is there enough skin in the deal to buy the house for 300k with an fha loan (not a 203k), rennovate it with my money (approx 50k maybe little more) and then refinance after the 6th month seasoning period and pull some cash out, if possible.