You need to make sure you're working with someone whose sending you personalized deal flow that actually meets your buying criteria.

Personally, I would hang on to the cash.  

I've done enough personal home projects to know, if I find a deck company it'll be 2k, but a GC will charge me 2.5k to over see it...

I’m not a former IRS person.

Ask your employer if you can have your pay split up into three deposits, one to investments savings, one to your checking account for personal use on a daily basis, and one to an emergency account you can tap into so you don't have to tap into your investment savings.

If an in-person visit is not feasible, we can easily arrange video tours to accommodate your schedule.

I personally will try to avoid buying a home under 1000 square feet again.

Living in one unit and renting out the others allows you to deduct 75% of expenses like mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, and shared repairs as rental expenses, while the remaining 25% applies to personal use.

they're not magic.are you going to in-person / informal meetups? 

With comps ranging from $875K-$1M and your estimated build cost at $550K, the after-completion value gives you a significant equity cushion, making this project highly attractive to lenders.If you plan to hold and rent the property, you could refinance into a DSCR loan after construction, which bases lending on rental income rather than personal income.