I just look at the bright side and various lessons learned: 1) make sure your local person looks for unfinished portions of the house and doesn't leave those out, 2) if you buy a vacant house, make sure the water is turned off, especially in areas that get very cold, since the pipes can freeze and burst, and 3) at least it's another one for the resume/track record of deals closed!

He then gave me his social workers phone number and his FB address as his resume. 

In the mean time learn how to write a good resume and fill it up with as much industry related material as possible because that's all you have and it does say something.

PFS, resume, previous investment experience in Canada, alternative credit history in Canada all helped. 

I'd recommend getting your personal balance sheet, tax returns, schedule of real estate owned, and resume available for these conversations.  

HI Bradford,Most lenders can do the 203k FHA streamline or full K / standard program or the home style conventional loan program.The problem is most have not done a rehab loan program or have construction experience  or the process on the lending paperwork side.There is quite a bit of paper work such as:- scope of work + revised scope of work or adjustments- consultant review depending on the depth of your construction project and work being done- resume for contractor- certain lenders have requirements for contractor experience such as you cant GC (general contractor) your own project and such- reserves or margin of error in the project such as the 35k streamline 203k loan which only leaves about 28-30k of actual construction cost with the remaining 5-7k for reserves and contingency- only 203k standard FHA can finance your carrying costs (so you dont have to make a mortgage payment during your 6 months of construction)- Home style conventional rehab loan cannot have a project that is more than 50% of the after improved value (meaning your rehab cannot be 250k on a 450k valued project after you finish) youd have to lower your rehab to 225k or less in this example) This is not limited on 203k products- much moreAfter the construction details and process theres the typical financing aspects which include regular FHA or conventional qualification guidelines.The rule of thumb though is to qualify for way more than you need or to do a max purchasing power assessment to see how much borrowing power we have to ensure we have enough room to budget for the 1) purchase, 2) rehab / construction budget, 3) reserves and contingency budget to fit in loan approval criteria.Let me know if you have any questions on what to look out for.

Banks love lending to people who are establishing themselves and doing a good job at itContractors love working for people who will pay for good work and promise future workRenters love a landlord who has established themselves as fair but professionalAgents love working with a buyer who is on top of paperwork and responsibilitiesyour reputation and resume are everything in this business

Not sure what your experience is, but having a portfolio of work / resume to share with a lender about your experience and expertise will give you more opportunity to secure financing. 

Nuclear war?

You are dropping a nuclear bomb in the middle of the ocean, in hopes to catch some fish.