Luckily, we had presented this project to another lender earlier and they were willing to fund the land last minute. 

@Alfred Torres to second @Joshua Enriquez , Michael Ortega is currently working on a project for a client of mine and the process has been a breeze because of it.

If you don't want tenants next door, slowly work on fixing up the other side and use it as storage until you move out and on to the next project.

I am starting to do some rehab projects in the area as well and even considering a house hack myself.  

If the agent had a property manager contact, and it seems like the condo can rent out with cash flow, id start interviewing that a project manager and go from there. 

Then each project we do is an LLC under that. 

For some reason, I have the idea of putting together a detailed binder of my plan, markets I'm eyeing, different number projections and scenarios, etc. and understanding that binder backwards and forwards and pitching the plan to potential lenders.Is there some kind of 'checklist' of documents, figures, etc. that I can refer to in order to make sure I have everything on hand that I might need when addressing lenders' concerns and questions, in order to convince them on my plan?

Is there investment groups here in Houston that team up and take on projects together?

We are the last major metropolitan area to get one of these centers - and it's the largest economic development project to happen in Birmingham in YEARS.

I do work for a general contractor as a project manager, so rehabbing and fixing up is something I at least have some experience in.