And don’t sleep on local banks or credit unions—they sometimes offer flexible portfolio loans that could work for a deal like this.Since your wife qualifies as a first-time homebuyer, check out any state-specific programs or HUD options for down payment assistance.

@Nick D.We are local to the area, I'm from Springfield MA.

Ideally they did not pay over retail because if they did they could easily lose the money they put into the property if the loan gets called.  

@Jason Khoury I purchased my current residence, a duplex, from a local non-profit about 5 years ago.

@Katie Miller I found mine at a local REIA.

Contractor – This is one I really need help from the bigger pockets community in the local area. 

Glad you have experience investing locally. 

A buddy of mine who invests out in Phoenix once had a client facing a similar timing mismatch on a rehab project.. they ended up working closely with a local credit union who was more open to interim valuations.

I’m local and happy to connect if we can help. 

My PM quotes me and does the work on my buys to get them rent-ready and then manages them and I'm local but they do the same for many out of state investors as do many Property managers in Milwaukee such as Citywide Rentals, Welcome Home Milwaukee or MKE Leasing.