I work for the family business and make about $40k a year and have about $30k in savings.

DTI < 33%Some inconsistencies that I am discovering in the process- Some lenders requiring a hard-credit pull vs some ok pre-approving me with just a soft pull- Some lenders willing to share a loan estimate sheet with exact costs to close, vs some keep insisting that they "need to run the process to get the loan estimate" and that it can only be done after I get into contract.Just before going into a contract, I would like compare all of the pre-approvals and compare their rates, exact cost to close & potential time to close & then pick the best one to make the offer.Ideal scenario- Pre-approve based on a soft pull (so I don't get my credit score dinged every time I work with a new lender)- Share loan estimate sheet with pre-approval for a potential propertyAm I asking too much from the lenders?

Feel free to reach out if you have questions on how that works or the tradeoffs!

@Randy Fitzgibbons - I'd recommend going with contractors who have experience with deals like this AND have experience working with banks/lenders for 203K rehab deals.

And to a lesser extent gig work, house hacking, roommates. 

I think the easiest answer is to work on your credit and increase your income to qualify traditionally.

Since you are planning to do some of the handyman work yourself and manage them yourself it might be a good idea to look at some areas closer to you also.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Let me know if you need anything and what projects you may be working on and I may be able to help out.

So the probability of paying the tax you've worked so hard to defer over the years is pretty high with this conversion.