I am a residential remodeling contractor by trade with a solid understanding of the rehab process and a network of laborers and subcontractors that I can rely on, and thus plan on managing this first rehab myself. 

I found your very valuable to me as I in the in the process of buying my first rental property in Saginaw as an OOS invester from CA. 

Should the process be the same?

But I don't think roommate income is a thing, and existing roommate income definitely isn't a thing if it's an apartment you're renting.I recommend you find a local mortgage broker who does conventional loans, give him/her a call, and ask to have a conversation about your borrowing limit *before* going through the pre-approval process.

its even worse in Chicago or in IL as there closing process is so difficult.. they do not have title and escrow in the same place you need and attorney to do this then you need title company to open title and well it aint the west cost were you can get these closed in 48 to 72 hours if you have a great relationship with your Escrow company that is also the title company..

I'm currently in the process of building 2 new SFH in the Houston suburbs.

Skillset Development: Given the potential savings, investing an hour to learn the process is justified.

we own multiple facilities and have been figuring it out the hard way,  was hoping for a website or data source that would speed up the process. 

Does anybody know of any resources that review the strategy and process of converting a single family home in a neighborhood zoned for multi family to a multifamily home? 

It seems like you learned alot from this whole process.