I have not gotten pre-approved yet.

Lenders typically require a resume for the GC involved in the borrower's project to assess their qualifications.When it comes to a GC getting funding for their own projects, while some lenders will take your experience as a GC or builder into consideration, most primarily look at your track record as a borrower on title when determining approval and pricing.That said, if a lender deems your experience sufficient, they may allow you to act as the primary GC on your own project instead of requiring you to hire a more experienced GC. 

Is it like the following:a)  Make an offer on a 5-unit that the Seller acceptsb)  Do my inspections, come up with gameplanc)  Present the lender with final gameplan, once approved then proceed to closing & get the keysd)  Have XX days to convert to a 4plex?

We had a tenant HUD approved Section 8 where we had 12 people ina 4 bedroom house. 

Congrats on your pre-approval and your plan to make Florida your primary residence while leveraging house hacking or short-term rentals (STRs).

It would cost a lot to get the planning approval and do a complete renovation of the 2 units.Can anyone suggest what would be my options at this point?

Their fees and interest rates were high, but they had the least restrictive approval terms from what I gathered.

Is there a specific duration I should be pre-approving an inquiry within?

.**** My current issue with the lender that I recently spoke with was that I had to have experience building a SFR on my own property and have sold or refinanced and held in order to be approved for the loan.

Additionally, the permitting and approval process for sprinklers can add up to three months to a project’s timeline.