Problems like these that scare of the average person is where you can find opportunity. 

I've never once seen Jay, along with others try to sell you on their strategy or their products(if folks have them) when offering advice. 

Their best agent did 20 transactions last year, and the average is around 5 transactions per year.The other is a big national firm.

What type of loan product are you planning on?  

It's a portfolio product. 3 year draw period, prime + 2(6.75% currently) and 1% origination. 

And what could be just and average for such a repair?

Also, can I ask what your average water bill is? 

Average construction cost $175/sqft, so construction cost for all five units ~$1.4 million.Thus, with land ($475k) and construction cost ($1.4 mil) = $1.9mil, approximately running $380k/unitSales price, will be about $500-$525k conservatively.Any thoughts on how a newbie might best approach financing the construction phase with partnerships?

The $1300/month is pretty average for the area. 

I am sure lenders like @Harjeet Bhatti have a much more positibe view of lenders than the average self employed investor.