Most likely cheaper to convert office space rather than rebuilding .At the same time there is the trend of less people working in traditional offices .

@Bruce Ellerd - Why not rent out the house in a traditional manner? 

Most traditional mortgage financing today ultimately comes from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, so lenders underwrite to those guidelines.

Do you just figure a flat figure that covers a traditional renovation (i.e. new floors, paint, appliances, cabinets, counters, baths etc.)? 

We would repay the loan as soon as the title becomes marketable.We can't get a traditional loan because there is no title to loan against and same goes for "Hard Money Loans".

One traditional product is shellac; there are other things that also work well.Something to consider - it only takes a little more work to get a tip-top job.

You could always do the first few with traditional financing.

They will pay a premium rent; but, the use has been historically been associated with non-traditional retailing.

Hi Arthur Garcia,I see you are a buy and hold guy, and I coach Lease Option Assignments, so I will give it a go.You can get an option to buy on-Sub 2Wrap AITDLease OptionContract for Deedor a Classic Wholesale Option to PurchaseIf you are trying to 1. help a seller sell on terms, instead of a traditional cash sale with an agent, 2. enter into the deal as a principal, 3. cloud the title with a memorandum of option, then 4.

There are lots of different sellers in different situations out there, good work on diving in, you'll learn a lot from getting knee deep in the mud.