Thanks - Depending on the type of project you are talking about there are software programs for estimating residential and commercial construction costs but they are not very useful especially this environment of rapidly rising labor and material costs.

So I don't actually do section 8 or assisted housing programs for that reason.

@Alfred LittonWe have a great program available for rental properties. 1 million liability, replacement cost, water damage, and $2500 deductible.

Glad I found BP, too, because I was just about to drop $1k on a mentor program program with Phil P---ski...

I'm curious if underwriters have any algorithms or programs that take care of this automatically based on a few inputs or if they largely pull comps manually? 

The programs we have are called the "Way Finder" & the "What If Simulator".

DTI will be your biggest issue in qualifying though, granted much more lenient on DTI (usually up to 50%) than an investment loan (usually under 40%).Last idea - give thought to downpayment assistance programs.

If you are having a cash issue, you should also ask your lender how much of a seller concession is allowed with their loan program.

If you have to graduate in 2 years, that means either a full-time program, which probably isn't reasonable, or an EMBA.

@Dan Schweit I'll throw out a totally off the wall option as well: taking advantage of iBuyer programs.