From what we know of the cost of the house plus to finish construction we can afford the loan.

I was considering doing an FHA loan as I could live in it for a year.

The issue now is that my accountant says I can't use any of those expenses he has the loan on because I wasn't legally named on mortgage or title.

If so, you can use a DSCR cash out loan no problem 

I am wondering the best loan process of purchasing off market properties not using a conventional bank.

One way or another, however, the investors must work to pay down loans, increase rents and decrease expenses wherever possible.

The lender we were originally working with said he no longer works for the bank who was giving us the loan.

To make it work, you have to find someone with a problem or situation bad enough that it makes keeping a loan out on a property that he does not own seem like a good idea...or maybe the best bad idea.

I can use a VA loan to purchase a house here, then use my wife's VA loan to purchase a house in another market a year later if not DTI-restricted.

~Andrew    Hey Andrew, You can do a HELOC on an investment property, however you may be capped at 70% CLTV and may need to draw $100k to meet the minimum loan amount.