That's exactly what I'm saying, pay off your entire balance before the statement closes (option 1), not on the actual payment due date (option 2)                                                              Option 1               Option 2Prior statement balance on Nov 1             $0               $5,000New charge on Nov 5                         $10,000             $10,000Paid on due date Nov 10                             $0              -$5,000Paid on closing date Nov 30             -$10,000                      $0Statement Balance on Nov 30                    $0              $10,000The ultimate goal is not to pay off your statement balance in full each month. 

And oftentimes they don’t make rent payments and hold you hostage to advance construction draws in order for them to give you back your own money as rent.

You mention using the funds as a down-payment on a property. 

Something else to consider is that once these properties are paid off, you could cross collateralize to purchase additional properties that fit your buy box so that you may not need to bring cash to the table for a down payment.

A DSCR would be perfect for me because I have funds for down payment, I have good enough credit and my strategy has proven to do a lot more than just service the debt.Does anyone know of any good DSCR lenders that I could contact?

The equity will count towards the down payment once you move into the construction loan.  

I read Chad Carson's Small and Mighty Real Estate Investing and I think my path is most aligned with what he calls the "live and fix" method.

If separate water line services for each unit weren't part of your original scope of service, then they are justified in asking for additional payment to redo the plans.

Then after that is achieved, we will begin saving for a down payment on our first house that we plan to buy in the next 2-4 years.

Handy work is not my strong suit so I'm a bit uncomfortable with that part of the method at the moment.