Generally you can weed out many individuals based on income, credit, employment history, previous residences, and overall behavior compared to other candidates. 

We have absolutely no clue where to begin but in speaking with our lender he stated that we would have to find an investor with ground up experience to even begin to be considered for a loan of this size.  

It's so simple, anyone can pull it off, and many of my clients are first time investors employing the exact same strategy.I think you already have it pretty much figured out, but I might suggest incorporating some kind of creative housing in the mix to increase revenue, like STR/MTR or renting by the bedroom.

May also want to maximize square-footage of property in comparison to land size, since land does not contribute to costseg3. costseg/STR: after one year, convert the entire building to AirBnB rentals4.

This defines the size of the deal for you.  

Teak trees are still growing both in Size and value.  

it’s a 3 bedroom and about a mile away from USF so we considered that but the rooms are different sizes so I didn’t know if that would be a deal breaker for renting to college kids? 

On a positive there are 15-20-30 year amortizations and increasing income qualifications including instant approval and AVM (no appraisal requirements) for very clean applicants, and creative documentation for self-employed borrowers or investors such as bank statements or even DSCR (usually up to 75%LTV) for investment properties. 

Because of the size, I’d look at what apartment complexes are charging as well - it’s not a true comp but it does affect marketability due to the amenities that come with complexes. 

This could result in class action lawsuits where tenants of a building file together and basically wipe out even mid-sized landlords.