If an in-person visit is not feasible, we can easily arrange video tours to accommodate your schedule.

If it is a high end housing product you may have to use a designer because they have access to some material/finish suppliers that are otherwise unavailable but that tends to only be for the highest end housing deliveries.

Or paying off my debt, while I provide them with a nice house to live in instead of an apartment. 

There is a single family home in front, and in back there is a guest house/loft above a garage.

With comps ranging from $875K-$1M and your estimated build cost at $550K, the after-completion value gives you a significant equity cushion, making this project highly attractive to lenders.If you plan to hold and rent the property, you could refinance into a DSCR loan after construction, which bases lending on rental income rather than personal income.

If you close with a conventional loan, it will need to be in your personal name.

Quote from @Vid Vin: Was the house really for 2000 dollars?

If you want good contractors out there quickly , pay their price and pay it quickly . 12 months is too long , we can build a 3000 sq ft house ground up in 3 months . 

Sure enough, the door was left unlocked and the house is just full of trash and abandoned junk.

I think if I make this house really cute, I could potentially get $240K ARV.