I want the backyard to be inviting, beautiful, and pet friendly, but still environmental and economical (read: I don't want grass out there). 

Did you consider the possible environmental liability with this type of company? 

Hi BiggerpocketI have this situation I want to share with everybody and seeking for advice if you run into this problem and how to deal with them.Our house was burn down by a fire and we got a builder in NJ which specialize in service environmental, construction and restoration to rebuild our home.

There are many national footprint QI's that can help you since 1031 is a federal statute applied the same way nationwide with a couple of little state additions. 

This is done before the borrower spends any money on appraisal, environmental, etc.

Safety - Learn about Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and employ the concepts at your property.

do you live in the foot print of the banks.. that makes a big difference as well. 

Typically only community banks and commercial departments at credit unions will be flexible to this.The exceptions are national hedge fund based mortgage products like Colony and others that will be able to make one note (mortgage) to you securitized by multiple trust deed's (what you're asking for above from multiple states).The problem you'll encounter is local community banks or credit unions which only want to securitize properties in their state (single state) or if they have a larger foot print (regional player) then they will only securitize properties typically in their footprint (unless if you have a really good relationship with them).I noticed you said you had one in CA and one in WI, I'd probably go with a "Colony," type hedge fund lending product on that specific request.There are others out there that I've seen but nothing off the top of my head at the moment.Best of luck,

In CA where there are more homeless than any other state in the country, I can tell you that the reason for the lack of housing is due to the high cost of permitting, length of time to get through the process in many areas, not enough land zoned for higher density, the strict environmental laws that have all but outlawed new septic systems in outlying areas, a water penalty, required sprinklers in houses, and now coming up in 2020, solar on new homes!

My PM tells me we may need to dig a few feet down to try and repair the leak after the next rain and we've been able to positively ID the general leak location.My question is, other than interviewing folks during DD, what is the best way to determine issues that are only present during certain environmental conditions (i.e. high winds or strong rain)?