Every room occupied for sleeping purposes by one person shall contain at least seventy (70) square feet of habitable room area and every room occupied for sleeping purposes by two (2) people shall contain at least fifty (50) square feet of habitable room area for each person.

Most owners who do it want to keep the option of having the building vacant when they eventually sell the place since vacant places sell much more easily then tenant-occupied ones if it's a rent controlled building.

The house is no longer occupied and needs work.

Tenant occupied through Nov. 2023.  

States which DO NOT require licensing for originating or negotiating a loan secured by commercial real estate nor a loan secured by non owner occupied residential real estateALASKA ARKANSAS COLORADO CONNECTICUT DCDELAWARE FLORIDA GEORGIAHAWAIIIOWAINDIANAKANSAS KENTUCKY INDIANAKANSAS LOUISIANAMASSMARYLAND MAINEMISSOURI MISSISSIPPI MONTANANORTH CAROLINA NEBRASKANEW HAMPSHIRE NEW MEXICO OHIOOKLAHOMA PENNSYLVANIA RHODE ISLAND SOUTH CAROLINA TENNESSEE TEXAS WASHINGTON WISCONSINWEST VIRGINIAStates which DO NOT require licensing for originating or negotiating a loan secured by commercial real estate but DO require licensing for a loan secured by non owner occupied residential real estateIDAHO MINNESOTA OREGON UTAH VIRGINIA States that DO require licensing for both residential and commercial real estate loan origination and brokeringARIZONACALIFORNIAILLINOIS MICHIGANNEW YORK NORTH DAKOTA NEW JERSEY NEVADASOUTH DAKOTA

As for the "seasoning", some lenders will require the property to be "stabilized" (perhaps 80%-90%+ occupied, depending on the lender) for 3 months, 6 months, etc. before they'll do a cash out refi.

Washington D.C. has also finally acquired the RFK Stadium (Source) from the federal government, a long-sitting vacant stadium in the NE quadrant of the District, with the plans to have the Washington Commanders come back to the District from Landover, Maryland, and occupy the stadium after a full renovation, who are currently a top 4 team in the NFL.

I would owner occupy it so I don't know if I have an avenue to remove them so I can do the condo conversion or if I could even do the condo conversion while they are still in there.

Do you want to occupy it a couple weeks a year? 

That said, there are specific contractors who like working with investors since they can avoid the hassle of working on occupied homes.