Go down to the bone as long as you have consistent income.

Is there a housing shortage or is there really a problem with the BARRIERS caused by productivity, land use, zoning and mandates that limits construction?  

What I did find is that as a builder in eastern tennessee, I could build STR cabins for less than 70% LTV so that I could effectively BRRR my way into growth without coming out of pocket for a down payment.Now it does take a lot more cash to do because as a builder I have to front a lot of money at times (land, permits, each stage of construction while I'm waiting on the draw). 

The site was under construction and I only recently got a login to the site.

In working on construction loan financing, the lender informed me I'll need to unencumber that portion of the property (makes sense) before closing on the construction loan.I understand there to be two methods generally speaking: refinancing my mortgage and removing that portion of the property in the process OR attaining a partial release from the lender to remove that land.I *strongly* want to avoid refinancing as I have an amazing rate, but partial releases seem complex and also require a survey.

Also, doing your own research on newly renovated or constructed homes that have recently sold in the area on Zillow or similar websites can be a good first step as well. 

Sometimes, I had already read the articles from my own Google search.What I really wanted to know were things like “where are the bad pockets with rampant illicit activities,” “what regulations and laws the local governments might implement or enact that could affect future property value and cause demographic shifts,” “what infrastructure construction is underway,” “is the FEMA map accurate and do the local insurance companies agree with it,” “if the property is near an airport, is it in noisy flight paths,” etc.

I do some construction myself and have an extensive team of framers/ electricians/ plumbers / HVAC ect. 

You really run the risk of bad construction biting you.

Hi Silas.Do you plan to have a GC or handyman run the construction project?