For the ballon payment I would plan to refinance into a traditional 30 year loan.

We're also starting to scour other forums for possible investments outside the traditional MLS sites, and other areas like upstate NY. 

Hey @Brandon Toron,Given your plan to turn the property into a short-term rental (STR), you have a few creative ways to push closer to that 90% cash-out goal, even if traditional lenders shy away from it:1. 

My firm has several lenders who can seamlessly close in 15 days on 'traditional' mortgages at/below market rates and we've been doing so for a couple of years now. 

What are the challenges of passive investing as opposed to traditional real estate investing? 

On the other hand, if you're aiming for long-term rental properties, getting prequalified with a lender specializing in traditional loans or DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) loans is key.

The problem is: A traditionally financed low-down payment house-hack with traditional long-term rents simply won't cash flow during occupancy, or after, in many MCOL-HCOL markets in the US. 95% leverage at even 5.7% just won't work in a lot of cases right now.

Id keep looking if it was not an approved short sale ( even an approved short sale takes a very very long time and theres no guarantee that you will even close on the house after months of waiting). q1)There are plenty of non traditional lenders that could offer you construction financing if the numbers make sense but it will cost you with points and a higher rate.

@Jay Hinrichs exactly the risk is even more than traditional development and the profit is actually less with more operational headaches.

This is not a great return, but not terrible.As others noted, there are other risks, like having the property insured at full replacement or purchase price, or if the option is 100% seller financing with no money down or very little, versus 20% traditional down payment, this can start to move it into a better investment.