My husband is a teacher and looks great on a loan application, but he is our breadwinner and doesn't have much time to spend on real estate.  

I think the rent is already pretty in line with the market, but of course my property taxes go up a little every year, contractors charge more, and my HOA fee did increase this year as well.

Read books, read these forums, listen to podcasts and save yourself the $20k they want to charge you for all the same information

The loans I get are all commercial, with a personal guarantee.One benefit here is a single credit pull / application.

If ARV is $103, then you charge then $105,000, if not more. 

For example, if a delayed release is being recorded for a lien on title, the SB2 fee would be charged to the seller since they are likely paying the release recording fee. 

The $1500 in origination charges isn't the profit center, the sale of a fresh new mortgage for $10k on the secondary market is where the profit is, that $1500 is small potatoes.No reason not to call your original loan person. 

Going below that will only lower the quality of you applicants.

I'd recommend lowering the price, maybe $50-$100/per month, and getting more qualified applicants.

Good news is - you don’t pay more for a great lender typically because banks pay a ton for advertising, and great lenders are referral based so they can be competitive, and be compensated well without charging you more.