Looked into conventional but can't finance the construction upgrades, and would need 25% down on non-owner occupy investment property + reno, or about $100k to pull it off.

The problem is that when the herd of speculative buyers turn into mass sellers - there will not be a large enough pool of qualified buyers to absorb the inventory which will lead to a sharp reversion in prices.

The value in the deal is what the difference would be in conventional financing, yes, 2/3K, and if it doesn't sell, she'll need to refinance it, that's another issue.How many times have we posted this?

Also, most lenders and brokers have access to both conventional and government programs (unlike most credit unions and banks).

They don't sell their own inventory (turn key), but are very knowledgeable about rentals, the areas of the city and are great at what they do.

Stick to conventional construction at that price range.

That would be similar to Buffet's approach, and could result in significant gains - but many of us would consider to be riskier than a real estate investment where the majority of your collateral is tied up in physical assets instead of inventory/systems that could go obsolete.

Maintenance issues, depreciation, etc.2) since it's on land can I get a conventional mortgage?

The terms you've been offered are good, but unless you have some sort of credit issues, I'd try to get into 30 year fixed rate conventional loans.

What is your level of conventional and formal education, can you work decimals or figure a per centage in your head without much trouble?