For instance, FHA guidelines are very strict and restrictive when it comes to using departing-residence rental income to qualify for a new FHA loan (such as the 100-mile rule).

As far as refinancing, you can either do a conventional loan where they use your debt to income / DTI to qualify or you can use a DSCR loan which structures the loan off of the rent versus income ratio.More info on DSCR loans: DSCR loans won't use your income to underwrite the loan. 

If you can do that, then you can qualify. 3.

Sometimes you have to challenge the SOW and determine if everything really needs to be done in order to attract qualified tenants.

Aging reports would be another avenue to explore, but again, may not even have these.Lastly, while maybe this property is in a desirable area of town with strong demand from highly qualified tenants, but I get the impression this is a rough part of town, with very limited demand from tenants.

Rent out all units temporarily so you can qualify for a DSCR loan.

What makes it slow in this case is that you don't really start seeing real cash flow until after year five but it's more effective than rentals in that there is little to no maintenance.Sure you can live in a home while fixing it up with the intention of selling it for a nice profit later but I think many people are already doing that and the buyers of slow flips now also have that opportunity without having to qualify with a bank.

If they're not familiar then it's your chance to get your foot in the door by bringing 1031 education to them.It's been a few years since I checked but at one time NAR showed statistics that of all the transactions potentially qualifying for 1031 exchanges, only about 10% were actually handled that way. 

However, it’s important to understand the loan’s key requirements:Owner-Occupancy: The borrower must live in one of the units as their primary residence for at least 12 months.Single Borrower: FHA loans are issued to individuals, not partnerships or entities, which means the loan would need to be in your name alone.Given your scenario, only you can qualify for the 203(k) loan since your partner does not intend to occupy the property.2.

Get a great realtor who knows and understands what homes might qualify for FHA and which might not.