Never lend far from home.If you don’t have enough money to lend locally in first position, you don’t have enough money to lend.

Perhaps check with a local attorney before proceeding.I realise I left some stuff out in the beginning, but the whole situation in general is just pretty wild.

I'm also hopeful to get some local cooperation now that he's claiming partnerships with local government. 

Would love to connect with local RE agents and have an idea of the market situation in SA.

Have you gone to any local meetups? 

We're going to start attending local meet-ups again and stay active.

Here in FL in addition to management I also broker for investors, and curate a weekly vetted STR list with local homes. 

Have you looked into local credit unions or alternative financing programs?

However, my under writing due to the recent rate hikes shows large cash negative after a high LTV refi to extract the equity so I am not currently actively pursuing BRRRRS and I find this is true for many of the local investors that were doing brrrrs a few years ago.  

or it’s better keep as is with small updates doneI'd start by speaking with an architect or local permit expediter, then someone at the City.