Again, from what I have heard that having a regular job can help you get a loan from a national bank and get the lowest rate.  

I have other investor friends who use Quickenloans, they will do a national search for a lender who wants your mortgage.

@Joshua Dorkin - My W2 employer has an agreement with a credit union that extends to employees nation wide.

It was a CBD, transit oriented development deal, the flavor of the month for institutional owners, so therefore the best course for our group was to package it with the impending new entitlements and sell it to a big player. 

Can anyone recommend a tenant screening service that does a good job with a national criminal background check?

Almost all builders, and certainly the nationals (KB, Lennar, Beazer, Toll, etc.) will always want to buy lots based on finished lots costs.

I've mentored at the nation's largest startup incubator, NYU/Data Future Lab in NYC.

Hey Jared, I ran into the same thing with two banks and I live in a less than 10 year old national builder community where all the homes sell within a very tight price per square foot.  

I know that there is a lot in play, Market, Project, Inflation, Leverage conditions, etc, but the exercise is mente to get and idea of the mindset and see if we can come out with some trends nationally and internationally.So let me go first:MAIN GEOGRAPHIC AREA OF INVESTMENT: Central Mexico (yea Mexico)MAIN TYPE OF REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT: Single house / Rental and Apartamento BuildingsMINIMUM EXPECTED RETURN (ROI): 12%INFLATION RATE  (CPI): 4.5%There you go, lest see what we can find out of this.

I have met Pharmacy techs that have spent $30K at local "technical institutes" on preparation to take an exam.