The county planners want a definite plan before an official meeting, so I'm only given vague suggestions for "affordable housing".  

@Lisa Kay common logic is what you are thinking and what is being repeated by our parents and co-workers.Rule #1... never take financial advice from those who are not FI and financial planners :P

I found Circuit for Teams (route planner).

For the time being, trust them, they are best equipped to know just what "facts" are b/w & c/c with their credit decision makers, subject of course to the fact that these "gray area" things are subject to change without notice depending on the prevailing winds internal to that institution, and subject to the fact that if you "ask ahead of time" underwriters are ALWAYS significantly more conservative than if you submit a full credit package through the normal standard full process ("better to ask forgiveness than permission").If curious, this sort of thing is why obsessive planner types always burn out in the mortgage industry within a year or two.

There are plans other than just a basic IRA that allow for higher contributions if you are self-employed.A discussion with your CPA or fee-only financial planner (not a stock salesperson) might be in order.

.- work with a good planner/architect because you can't even go into the planning office and there are a bunch of details you'll have to learn on the fly.

There are other elements of the deal that I have to assess like parking, tax credits, speak to the city planners, bank lending structure etc that I estimate will take 30 days to evaluate whether the deal is good or not.  

There are other elements of the deal that I have to assess like parking, tax credits, speak to the city planners, bank lending structure etc that I estimate will take 30 days to evaluate whether the deal is good or not. 

It's like hiring a party planner for your 50th birthday party. 

In the financial realm, they hire portfolio managers/brokers/financial planners, etc.