I recommend you speak with a lender about reviewing whether you could qualify for a loan prior to making an offer, as I've seen these kinds of things blow up.

@Timothy Frazier Yes, the only reason to use HML as a down payment is if the property is "mostly turnkey" AND you don't have the funds to renovate AND you have strong CMA comps from a real estate agent that supports that the fact that you are buying a property that is under valued AND your renovations would push that so that you could refinance.

Seller wants $160,000 cash out which leaves $50,000 in equity for the buyer.I had a taker from CA but he couldn't come up with the cash.I was not aware of anyone that understands that kind of deal.  

What kind of investing are you looking into? 

What kind of questions should I be asking and what kind of a return should I get? 

Dodd Frank corrects this by requiring the price be supported by an appraisal or some  basis. 

To help support that avatar, try and have on-site parking and ideally a place where a large work truck can be parked without issue (think fully decked out F-350). 

Unless you're in a Class A Neighborhood like Palmer Woods, Indian Village, Sherwood, etc,. the additional rent probably won't support the cost to build:(More profitable to take the build funds and buy another property.DM us if you'd like to discuss more...

Is this just some kind of handshake deal? 

What kind of ROI i should look at, considering project completion will be 3 years roughly?