That's if the rental income can carry the cost of the new mortgage.

If your lease includes this provision, I recommend issuing a lease violation notice for not allowing maintenance to enter and carry out essential repairs.  

The good applicant eventually gets tired of carrying the water for the other, leaves, and you are stuck with a bad tenant. 

There may be some equity that I can tap into depending on the DSR however,  I'm looking to see what other funding options are available to cover construction carrying costs that do not require W2?

It was my father's investment it actually at one point had been our primary residence he was just putting it on the market because he didn't want to deal with the stress of renters or have to worry about carrying costs.

@Paul Azad, regarding your example, I would confirm if the projected 14% return is net of all fees and carry or gross.  

I then took that money, paid off most of my debt, and then started looking for a place where the owner would carry the note and I could afford the down payment.The only thing I could find that met those requirements was a 100-year-old house that had been converted some decades ago into three, one-bedroom apartments.

EXACTLY Darius its well known in those circles  this is why the state of PA is coming out with new laws that will clearly define how the lease option works and treat it more like a seller carry back with Dodd Frank protections.. 

While I would love to keep it for just us, having rentals to cover the full cost of carrying the property has been great.

Renting at a $220/month loss (about $5K/year) could allow you to hold out for future appreciation, but you’ll carry ongoing losses.