If your rehab is below $35,000.00 you are not required to have an FHA consultant, however I would spend the money to have one anyway, you just don't have their level of experience. 

Are there other creative tips or contingencies (or lack thereof) that you find increase the chances while that won’t impose an unreasonable level of risk?

We have 10 listings here on the island and have built the systems to run a portfolio of this size at a very high level.

On a micro level, probably not a good idea.

.- Easy busline commute- Three bedrooms on the mainlevel with hardwood floors- Finished lower level includesfamily room, 4th bedroom withegress window and secondkitchen.creates great roommateoptions!

New listings have been below 2020 levels since the four-week period ending August 22.Active listings (the number of homes listed for sale at any point during the period) fell 21% from 2020.46% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market, above the 43% rate of a year earlier.33% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within one week of hitting the market, up from 31% during the same period a year earlier.Homes that sold were on the market for a median of 20 days, up from the all-time low of 15 days seen in late June and July, and down from 32 days a year earlier.49% of homes sold above list price, up from 34% a year earlier.On average, 4.9% of homes for sale each week had a price drop, up 0.8 percentage points from the same time in 2020, and the highest level since the four-week period ending October 13, 2019.The average sale-to-list price ratio, which measures how close homes are selling to their asking prices, decreased to 101.2%.

My understanding is that their retainers are around $10,000, and while I am sure they are well worth it, we are just getting started and probably don’t need that level of caliber yet.

For reference- healthy inventory levels or a balanced market is 6 months of inventory. 

Then, ofcourse, I would look at other similar properties in the area to see whether I can try to exceed my minimum profitability level.

Rent levels go up and down but think 5 years out.