Lenders that don’t require an appraisal will perform a desktop appraisal but will typically have a very conservative view on the value of the property to protect the company’s investment.

I am not a developer , But down the street from one of my properties is a town house development .

One of our borrowers who successfully flips on the South Side (Dobson, Park Forest, etc.) is capitalizing on the abundance of discounted rehab properties (on market and off market via wholesalers and the such), which is a key strategy given rising rates. 

I use an excel sheet I created that includes the date, REPS category, property, description of activity/activities, the people / tools of the activity and the hours spent on the activity.

Not sure if your property is in that area as you are a bit West.

In a handful of years you've got a few properties, and you're on your way. 

JimGo to the city’s assessor’s website and look up the property record.  

When it comes to multis, you'll also be able to add in your tenants rents as qualifying income on the property which helps tremendously.

I could see this fit into several categories of 'real property trades or businesses.'

I purchased a property in the 77003 zip code which is 1.5 miles from downtown.