I just want to summarize a bit, because there are 4 distinct and different documents someone could present to a seller to show some level of ability to purchase.

If you are looking for 4 units or less residential, that is not anywhere close in all aspects to 5 units or more Apartment complexes, which are considered commercial is the distinction that needs to be made.  

On top of the weekend class to "really" learn a thing or two instead of wasting your valuable time like at the meeting I was attending, they then were pitching their exclusive next tier program where you and 15-or-so others could have the distinct "privilege" of having breakfast/brunch with them and be able to talk with them for the low price of $500...THEN there was their "top dog" program where you and a select few could have the great honor of becoming their  padawan after you took out a 2nd mortgage on you or your parents house to pay $50k for that honor.

Most have large homes and sharing that home for some of months or years may create the distinction between losing the house and keeping it.8.

Buying and selling a MH in Texas has its own distinct set of rules and laws apart from real estate and cars.http://www.tdhca.state.tx.us/mh/

This market, therefore, is highly distinct from the one that drove the US off a financial cliff in 2008.

That commercial vs. residential distinction for the loan is based on Fannie Mae guidelines and has nothing to do with the IRS guidelines for taxes.For the appreciation question and the NAR data, note that that data is nominal.

So, since the distinction between Loan-to-Purchase and Loan-to-ARV is blurred anyway, why not just lend based on purchase, is the way I look at it.The amount of skin in the game varies depending on the deal and my relationship with the rehabber.  

Thanks for the good comments guys.Bill Gulley I've never came across an article about this topic on here but I am pretty new to this site, so its good to know this has been addressed before on here.Thats an interesting distinction you make about operator v. investor.  

But I get the distinct impression that some of these guys don't like working with investors (could be because that one of them actually told me this... lol)...