A good rule of thumb is to have at least $5 to $10K in reserves per unit to cover these situations and avoid financial strain.Thank you for the reply and help!

They can also give you a better idea of how much you should be prepared to pay so you can cruise through your closing with confidence.And as you plan ahead for closing day, be sure to budget for your real estate agent’s professional service fee too, in case the seller doesn’t cover it.

Another note on construction cost, going vertical is very expensive now and would require have a great connect with a developer and a builder in the area.See what rents are in the area and run the numbers to ensure the rents will cover your costs and give you a solid return—using the 1% rule can help.

Take a look at Personal Property versus Real property coverage, plus clean up costs to make sure your covered.I would also look at covering your project from the Subcontractors. 

Covering this with my salary is relatively comfortable.  

For now, it Looks like your roommate/tenant can cover half of your mortgage (plus hoa fees). 

You can be told one thing & the PM can continue to cover it up without your knowledge.

Now IF you have all those bases covered, my tips are: Take GREAT pictures and for the love of all that is holly please no close ups, wide angel pics.

I only have enough funds for a 20-25% downpayment and was looking to do a DSCR loan to cover the rest.

- FYI: it's only illegal to try to rent it out, the property owner can usually legally live in a nonconforming basement unit.If you do all this you may still negatively cashflow each month, so make sure your income can cover and/or your cash reserves.If you do this successfully, you will learn more in 1-2 years than you would reading here on BP for 5+ years:)Good luck:)