If so then let me know, happy to put you in touch with my local lenders that can give you a gut check on your numbers. 

To avoid appraisal issues with VA construction loans, work with a VA-approved builder, keep plans detailed, and stay in touch with your lender and appraiser.

Obviously, they could have done more like be in touch with the city and try and foresee any problems that could arise, but I'm seeing this as 100% the fault of the seller, but I don't have all the relevant info.  

Currently I own a property in Sacramento with enough backyard lot that has Alley access and my current Mortgage is at a 2.5% rate and don't want to touch or affect it.I am in the process of considering a lot split with a plan to build a new doublex unit in the split lot with hard money or a construction loan. 

In regards to sharing your experiences and resources, would you mind if we connected and stayed in touch as I still have approx. 3 yrs before I’m even eligible to leverage it and just collect as much info as possible? 

Hello, my wife is an optometrist and we are looking to use a physician loan to purchase our primary residence.We have some debt that we would like to payoff through a DSCR cashout refinance in am existing investment property I currently own and from there we hope to be in a good place for the doc loan.Our challenge is finding a lender that can handle both the DSCR cashout refi and the doc loan, since coordinating two separate contacts seems to add extra challenges.If you or someone you know can do physician loans (for optometrists) and also DSCRs I would appreciate being in touch.

i like the suggestion by @Chris Clothier to get in touch with other California investors doing what you want to do. 

Very few investors want to even touch the neighborhood.

Judd, your question touches on complex tax issues, especially regarding the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) and managing U.S. rental properties from abroad.

Could you put me in touch with them?