The only thing we can think of is he deals with a lot of international trade and money and maybe it’s OFAC we just get a scripted message every time we talk to someone so we got lawyers involved. 

At that point we hired an independent appraiser and the numbers came back good and the hard money lender agreed to use them.  

Many Realtors will suggest purchasing a property using a FHA Loan, to reduce your out of pocket money.

If you're still interested, take a trip to the site once ground has been broken.The flashy marketing material for a new development is great, but don't put your money at risk for something that's likely to vaporize.

With it being that risky, the least I could do is have some money saved up.

Most if not all of these properties require SIGNIFICANT cap ex rehabs and conventional financing won't touch them; you'd likely need to go the hard money route at 10-12%, 2 points, 12-18mon turn around.

It would be a tight budget but I do have money set aside for repairs.

Covering the mortgage isn’t an issue, but I’m considering factors like: Multi-Family: House hacking would help offset costs right away, but I’d likely need to put money into renovations upfront.Single-Family: Easier move-in with no immediate renovations needed, plus potentially lower tenant turnover once I rent it out For those who have been in a similar situation, what did you choose and why?

With conventional financing becoming more restrictive, real estate investors may turn to hard money loans for acquisitions and rehab projects.

Looks to be enough room to make money but just be sure you're very confident in the comps in the area the property is in.