If you choose to do the lien, have an attorney or title company draw it up for you.

The bank will put a hold on them, so you can't just draw them out, so don't plan to need them for a while.This will cost you an appraisal on both properties to be performed by that lender. 

@Susan Kang what is drawing you specifically to these two markets as compared to other great markets in the mid-west?

during the draw period (typically) you won't even be paying down principal unless you make extra payments.so unless you have cash i would wait. 

I am in the begining stages of producing a conce0t drawing for the rental property.

We simply charged 1% service fee.. so if the coupon ( in those days was 15%) We dragged 1% and divided up 14% to our fractional owners..

He is interested in REI, has good basic knowledge on REI and has more than enough saved up for down but hesitate because of current market, interest rate, rental demand, capex, first investment jitters, draw of stock market, etc, etc. 

Never built in Houston before so take my feedback with a grain of salt but I'd put money on it being impossible to build a duplex from scratch for $125 a foot (including everything from drawings, engineering, permit fees, general conditions, labor, material, landscaping).Out here in AZ the builder cost is going to be $200 a foot at best, but add 20% on top of that for the client cost.

If it was dividable into smaller units it would be even easier to fill.   

You should think through how much this will cost with architectural drawings, a good GC, etc.