Quote from @Charlotte Wilson: I have a good down payment set aside ready for my first duplex investment property that I plan to rent out.

With things like the ONE Linden plan in Linden, which is a 50M plan to improve the neighborhood.

We plan on starting renovations on the unit in X (I would say a date but in reality have a 2-3 month buffer), and based on this we are no longer going to be renting the unit out.

Owner-Builder Construction Loan (Challenging but Possible)Some lenders offer owner-builder loans, but they usually require:✅ Strong financials (good credit, assets, low debt-to-income)✅ A solid construction plan, budget, and timeline✅ Proof of prior experience (renovations help, but formal experience is a plus)✅ A licensed contractor or project manager to sign off on the build2.

Also confirm if its a planned community sometimes they have multiple HOA (master and local) that this can fall under. 

With this plan I would need cleaners and contractors/handymen.

I dont see how the risk would be reduced on second mortgage unless you are planning to hold the property in some type of llc.

In other words held for steady cash flow.My VARIABLE (note) PORTFOLIO consists of more active/speculative notes - non performing notes I purchased at discount to principal owed; notes I hope to “work” for enhanced ROI, real property I “purchased” with a leaseback option to repurchase, and defaulted notes I purchased planning on eventually taking ownership of the real estate, as well as notes I created that don’t have current payments but provide a guaranteed return plus an equity “kicker” when the property is sold. 

This fits my plan for a couple of reasons, I plan to rent one unit long team and as I travel a fair bit for work I'll Airbnb the second unit when I'm overseas.

If you move title to the property into a trust for the seller's "Estate Planning purposes", you still need the mortgage company's approval.