I buy often but I am in Maine so several are regional and it won’t help you if you aren’t here.

I would try Tom Tepe at USBank Given that you were in California, and a lot of the more regional lenders are going to have difficulty lending to you.

Affordable housing provider here in the Capital Region and throughout NY.

I'm also considering investing out of the region (in the mid-west or south) but am hesitant to do so for my first property. 

I was then recommended to speak with a regional bank to see if they had a better product that would fit my immediate needs and they stated the following: 120mth full pay out 4.45%180mth full pay out 4.50%5/1/30ARM 4.625%7/1/30ARM 4.75%10/1/30ARM 5.25% If you do not intend to reside in the property as your primary residence, it will be considered an investment propertyThe main problem is that the house is being purchased with a hard money & the rehab is being done with a HELOC.

You need to talk to several local and regional banks as well as mortgage lenders to discuss options as they all have different appetites at different times and offer different rates and terms.Some banks will offer construction to perm others only the construction part.

I realize rental returns and housing markets in general are regional.

financing from regional lender at 5.75, 15% owner financing for 6 years at 6%, 10% down.

CBRE puts out a lot of reports on this topic, from Global surveys to regional.

There’s a lot of opportunities available throughout the region.