we bought our primary resident property, and ended up finding the drainage system is broken after a year or so, and paid close to $30k to completely reroute some part of the whole system. 

There isn't enough cash flow in these deals to pay the mortgage, monthly expenses and the HELOC that I'm trying to leverage against.

So when I have paid rent, less the credit, they failed to contact myself nor the owners and employed these harsh scare tactics against me.

You could find less expensive property in a not so good area.

There will be mishaps along the way and much of the advice directed to younger investors is they have more time and less capital to cushion those mishaps and unforeseen expenses. 

I am assuming that even if you strucutred it with a higher purchase price (85% of value) and pre-paid rent it would potentially still be frowned upon.

The utility company doesn't manage your property...they provide paid services until they're not paid anymore. 

For investment properties, 20% down is the realistic minimum these days. 15% down loans exist, but typically are so expensive that they are not practical.

The build will be more expensive then buying outright.

This allows you to report the rental income and expenses directly on Schedule E of your joint tax return, simplifying your tax filing process.