We all hate the Browns out here too.

This means that any difference in price between purchase and sale is considered taking profit.  

@Jose Saladin you will likely not get a CO (certificate of occupancy) to be able to legally rent this out.

I'm not blaming, but this is generally a discussion item.

I'd recommend this strategy for a new investor vs. doing a HML on your first deal. 

My goal is to have two single family homes by the end of this year with tenants and to be able to refinance them both to continue the process in the years to come.

@Stanley Nguyen there really isn't a way around this.

As a civil engineer I would recommend finding an engineer that has done work in this region before. 

My goal is to rent it out to start generating some cash flow.I’m planning to remodel the kitchen soon, and once that’s done, I’d like to move out to make the apartment available for renters.

Orangeburg is an inferior, out of date product, made out of essentially paper and tar.