He is very good about deductions on tax returns so his income looks negligible and of course banks wont talk to him about loans.

Of course the OP received the funds but the point I would argue is that if the OP received in Jan and not Dec in his bank account.

Generally speaking, with SFR or small multis, I just rely on the lease/rent roll (and some form of proof of payment; i.e. bank statements, deposit receipts, tax returns, etc.). 

You could build a new one every 2-3 years and move into it as a primary so the bank would be more friendly with your loan.

-Local banks were the best.

.- Collect Tax Certificate to verify Property Taxes are Paid- Get a current statement from the seller to verify the existing balance, if they are delinquent, you can get the bank on the phone to verify the amount to make the loan current.- Review the loan documents, there is most likely a due on sale clause, which is why you won't find a title company to process these for you.

You might find a local credit union or community bank that will go to 95 -100%.At one point I called 2 different VA Regional Loan Centers regarding this section in the VA lenders handbook:Assumability - The second mortgage should not restrict theVeteran’s ability to sell the property any more thanthe VA first mortgage.

We STILL have not received our construction loan from our bank because of this DELAY in tax filings!

Some banks and lenders will calculate your Heloc payment based on the Max limit even if you only have a small portion used due to preventive risk. 

Alternatively, if the bank ( assuming there is a bank) is fine with it, you could negotiate a credit and escrow the funds to be released after you do it yourself.