I am a licensed realtor based in Atlanta, Georgia, and I am currently working on obtaining my mortgage origination license.

Then progress to permits and then building.You could also just do it and hope the city doesn't notice, which they probably won't.Your challenge will be getting Certificates of Compliance on the units!

I was hoping someone might have some experience in this market to know how challenging the process would be to obtain the permit.Thanks for your input!

What are you hoping to obtain from coaching?

When you go to sell, Montvale requires a certificate of occupancy so this issue has to be resolved in advance of a sale.Although I am not a lender, I assume you will not be approved for an owner-occupied mortgage on 5-units if it is a legal 4-unit without some type of mortgage fraud whether in reported rents, units, or another legal document or representation (very very large issue from a legal perspective with multiple arrests in the last year for anyone playing fast and loose).As far as the DCA, I would recommend coordinating your work with the city with the DCA.

Quote from @Michael Ewers: Hey y'all, Wondering what is the best marketing strategy for obtaining off market leads?

Then any rental income you could obtain from that property could be used as an income source for loan pre-qualification.

At one point I was told I could obtain funding (non-conforming was the term that was used) with 12 months of bank statements.My question is what would make me more appealing to a lender; should I continue with 1099 work or go to W2??

Unless your team can put in 10% of the total money raised, you will have trouble obtaining financing. 

Most of the ultra wealthy individuals sacrifice a lot to obtain their wealth, and I won’t make those same sacrifices.Similarly, I don’t desire to have 5% body fat because I don’t want to put in the effort required for it.I understand that ultra wealthy is subjective, but the main point stands.