I like the new construction idea a lot.

Hi @Katherine Lewis, good idea!

I think house-hacking is a great idea and I would be more than happy to help you with the financing.

The last post on this topic I see is from about seven years ago... so figured I would start fresh. 

The appraisal was the longest hold up but the junior loan officer we were assigned seems to have zero idea what he is doing and zero sense of urgency...

There are plenty of websites that can give you a good idea of property values in your area.

The general idea is that you must acquire an interest in real property you do not already own, and since you already own the subject real property you want to build on, the transaction must be structured so that you are creating an interest in real property you do not already own (in fact, it does not yet exist).

This is the best way to get good at analyzing deals and will allow you to quickly have a good idea about how a deal will work.

Feel free to DM if you have any questions or would like some resources on the topic. 

If you care to learn about the distinctions, read these posts:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/517/topics/1215989-expl...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51-tax-legal-issues-con...2.