Fannie Mae discontinued HomePath Mortgage and HomePath Renovation Mortgage 2 years ago -- those financing products no longer exist.

The last painter I hired, which granted is a fairly modest job compared to what many contractors are doing on your major renovation projects, my dude gave me copies of all the receipts + a summary of receipts page, as well as a bill showing his hours worked and hourly wage, and a final piece of paper that literally had $Parts + $Labor = $TotalBill.I felt that this was uber transparent and really appreciated it.

If you add up the number of days projected for your renovation, the average days on market after a renovation & the average time it takes for an FHA loan to close (Which is normally 30 days) you'll find 90 days usually isn't a problem.  

The house is a triplex and is being nicely renovated inside and outside, but the property itself is an eyesore, as the parking areas are in bad shape, there is no grass, the dirt has washed away and the ground is uneven, and there is no fence. 

Then, if my unit is in better shape, newly renovated, I start at the high end.  

Also what type of renovation would you do?

I am very handy person and am very willing to do many renovations personally.

Does anyone of you (investors )DID DO home appraisal "upfront" before putting newly renovated house in the market?

I'd be opening a business with moderate traffic and regular scheduled appointments (think barbershop, salon, etc)In my opinion the lender doesn't need to know about any future business plans or exactly what the renovation funds will be used for other than the fact that i will be renovating the property with that money and it is going to be my primary residence.

In the meantime I'm trying to get myself educated as much as possible in all the various aspect their is to real estate from picking a property, analyzing the profitability of the building, obtaining financing, renovating, general property management.