I've read a bit about how the FHA distinguishes between "excess land" and "surplus land"...I think this would fall into the "surplus" category since the land with carriage plans cannot be sold separately but I am unsure of the 203K portion and the fact the carriage house is not built yet.

@Matt Roberts you can still do the refi, we’ve seen an increase in appetite from private money lenders who will now do 30 years.

Do you know average property appreciation last year was in excess of 20%? 

Ask your insurance company and charge the tenant the excess - we do this for a tenant who has a scrapbooking business where people come for several days to scrapbook as a getaway.   

I am fine paying the +$12,000 to rewire the building but the extra meter seems excessive. 

Then you can say the team or the company has X years of collective experience.As others have pointed out, skip any BS or excessive spin.

Do not go into a rehab property without knowing what needs to be done as well as excess capital for the unknown.

Now, a couple months after i bought the property, I wonder if this is excessive.

Zane,We represent over 50 markets for home Insurance and only one will consider Knob & Tube and then only if it is less than 10% of the building so the Excess/Surplus market policy would be the option on this property.   

If you are buying in the right locations, you can INCREASE your cash flow and REDUCE your risk by having your rent properties fully leveraged and using the excess funds to by more rent property.