As others have said, these are typical land bank purchases where you buy a house and land and are required to do the renovation and it's always $100-$200k if they are offered from $1 - $5,000.

If you do cash out refinance it would allow to only get to 75% LTV around the high 7s with some points, they would still require to be 1st position.

The title company gave me the contact of a firm they partner with, and requested that we use them instead as they meet their requirements, but they could not provide any explanation of why they can't write the check to the IRS, and I have already paid for the other firm's services and do not want to pay again.

Just requires a lot more cash up front and having it held up for a few years.

They seem to require high quality materials and  craftsmanship to maintain a level surface.

Conventional also has a tighter DTI requirement, and higher reserve requirement.

@Joseph McElmeelHey JosephThe fha has a lending requirement for fourplexes that could cause you issues and that is the self sufficiency test.

I would think of this problem differently: I might encourage them to explore ADUs... this would give them an additional stream of income and would likely only require a relatively small chunk of money in their savings (relative to the total cost).If they could partner with someone that has experience building and/or flipping (to qualify for the construction loan), then cash them out with a 30-yr DSCR loan (and use that as the builder's profit), then they could rent the property and enjoy the cash-flow.

What are the requirements lenders look for in this scenario?

It requires more effort but can significantly accelerate your portfolio growth.Down Payment Assistance Programs: If upfront cash is a concern, look into down payment assistance programs.