FHA is easier to qualify for and allows for higher debt to income.If you have not spoken to your lender already, you should also just look into the HomeStyle Renovation loan.

In this case, I would need to find some private lender that does unconventional financing (higher interest rate) or I could use an FHA 203k loan.

Low Down Payment OptionsGerman lenders often offer financing programs requiring only 5-10% down payments, particularly for primary residences.Strong financial regulations in Germany support these low down payment options.3.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

If you are skilled in each of the areas above, and you have enough in reserves to cover the costs of when things do not go as planned, then you can likely attract money from private money lenders who want to get a return on their money and they see lending to you as a low risk way of earning a better return than in the other passive investing options they have. 

Brandon Turner talked about it in his 2nd book, The book on real estate investing, he got a private money lender for one of his first deals from someone he went to church with.

But to your point, a current project I’m about to start, I can tell you I had to push back on ARR as the comps used by lenders were entirely outside of what I’m bringing to market.

private money lender How did you add value to the deal?

If its not someone you know the lender will dictate the terms.

Ultimately though, it will depend on the lender and the availability of funds (assistance) available for the demographic area that you are purchasing in.Do you have a property that you are looking at?