What would the size of the duplex be, 2,500 SF?

Foreign national loans allow people outside of the US to purchase properties here, and they can be done as a DSCR loan, meaning they don't require employment history, income or DTI.

North of Austin, the county regulations say you don't have to do it IF you're only doing residential, certain lot sizes and limiting the impervious cover of each lot.

The number one employer is the state government, because the capital is next door, and the number two employer is the federal government, both are not cyclical and don't fluctuate, if anything their job base increases. 

The first rehab he led turned out nice, but at times was rough because we have a different relationship than most employee/employer.  

That's a better sample size. 

You also have lawn and snow removal in multi's, where SFR tenant is responsible.Finally, SFRs typically garner more rent than multi's, for same bed/bath/general size.  

Dave Ramsey talked a lot about budgeting and when self-employed you’re pulling your business up by the boot straps. initially there’s nothing reliable.

I suspect the builder has crappy credit and can't get approved on their own.Also, as a former banker myself, local banks aren't generally interested in financing new construction on this size of project or a builder that doesn't have extensive experience in these type of builds, in my opinion. 

@Andrew Garcia, I would take a look at rents for a similar size (square feet and bedrooms) property so I’d have an idea of what the income might be.