We were told to Go back to work and receive back pay.

If you are able to make it work and it fits into your lifestyle.

You really have to devote yourself to making it work, and it helps if you have a genuine interest in this business aside from money.

Find an architect who specializes in this type of work, and who is very familiar  with the building department

There are deals in every market that work and the beast factor in real estate is Time. 

Some say we have to buy the house with them or we paid too little for the property and finally after going back and forth and submitting all our paper work and paying for appraisal they now tell us they didn’t realize that the property had so many bedrooms and they said they do not loan to properties with so many bedrooms.

They want the easy, short road to building a company and someone has to pay for that short cut.  

Short term rentals will get you more per night, but they are also a lot more work and can be seasonal.If it was me, I'd probably sell it. 

This 2 to 1 ratio is required because 1) they are work and my time deserves to be highly compensated. 2) big rehabs have some risk.

I always check around with other property owners, investors and ask them who they're using for their construction work and if they were pleased with the work.