I'm finding that because our loan amount is pretty small, there's several hurdles in obtaining this type of financing.The building is located in Chicago.Would appreciate any ideas.

A) Go with a hard money lender for acquisition and rehab, then find another bank to cash out refinanceB)Use a conventional bank for acquisition, a 2nd bank for a construction loan and a third bank to cash out refinanceHas anyone actually obtained a construction loan?

I have yet to to turn in a loan application but have ran into recent situation to obtain a personal loan 10k.

It's good to know that obtaining financing is possible for Canadians.

When I had difficulty obtaining property characteristics as an appraiser, I would submit requests to county assessors office.

I have come across a possible deal that I may try to obtain via seller financing. 

If you have interest in pursuing a career as a realtor it may be worth your while to obtain your license now and get that moving.

They should obtain a renters' policy that both will cover their personal belongings and give you some protection for unintentional damage they cause as a result of a cooking fire or the like.Hope that helps!

Mixed use property are (or at least, can be) difficult to obtain without substantial down payment.  

Once the build and/or remodel is completed, most policies predicate that you have 30-60 days to obtain regular insurance for the premises based on what type of occupancy it is; ie, if you are moving into the property, then you would get an HO (Homeowners policy), if it's a rental, then you would obtain Landlord policy or a Dwelling Policy to actually cover the building (since you own it, but not the contents, since presumably, the tenants should obtain renter's insurance to cover their items).