I've either self financed all of my projects or secured traditional mortgages.

I have access to some off-market opportunities, REO's, as well as traditional MLS deals (where good buys still pop up). 

@Jeffrey Evilsizor I am no expert in construction law in AZ, so don't know if there is some liability you will retain after the sale of the property, so you will want to check out this angle with a lawyer.From the insurance perspective, you are not incurring traditional GC risk if you are doing the work for yourself, on your own properties. 

Smaller traditional wood cabins lost in the forests or larger more renovated "HGTV" cottages on paved roads, views, hot tubs, proximity to town/amenities (and micro-brews!)

If you are using hard money you need to budget for the points and fees as well as traditional third party closing fees.Repairs: The money it is going to take you to rehab the property plus an extra 10% of estimated repair costs to account for unexpected repairs.Holdings Costs: Here is where a lot of investors get tripped up.

With my current financial position, the properties need to have at least 1.2 rent/value ratio or higher, be 75% of value, and $150k or less. if the numbers work out in the near future, i would like to start using hard money lenders for the down payment and closing costs on the properties, and purchase them traditionally. i would like for these properties to also have a 1.0 or higher rent/value, and with my current credit i can get approved for around $150k-$200k, so the property would need to be below that. once i fill up my 10 allowed traditional financing properties, then i would go hard money lenders for down payment / closing costs, and private financing for the long term. by that time though my own portfolio should be able to provide down payments in leu of hard money. your comments and positive feedback / critizism about my strategy going forward is appreciated. i am a brand new real estate investor, finishing up on my first hard money/refinance acquisition now, so im just getting started and looking to grow the portfolio quickly. thank you

If your buyers are going through a traditional loan process to buy the home they will need a finished house to lend on, not a promise to build.  

I recently moved a pension from a previous employer to a traditional self-directed IRA.

Obviously thats quite a difference from a traditional or FHA loan but from the research I have done it shouldn't be costing me more money, especially since I took the actual loan amount and typed that into  the calculator.  

Since the house "Needs Major Repair," I am not able to get traditional bank financing and thus would need to borrow from a private lender to show proof of funds.