Both with only cosmetic improvements needed at the time of purchase, totaling less than $5k apiece. 

In that time I had neck fusion surgery and was away on road working for 7 months and we just finshed the build.I am looking to refinance and pull all I can out of it to start my next build.

This was a cash deal and we knew it would be mostly cosmetic so we took our time and let prices climb each month we held it.

The house definitely needs some upgrades on the interior and some cosmetic fixes too.

Cosmetic items are less important but nice to make note of. 

How do you justify the large mark up on cosmetic items to the real cool appraiser?

As of right now nothing yet but we are in the process of adding slight cosmetic work throughout the house.

For instance, if we see that the units need cosmetic upgrades and some foundation work needs to be done, we might ask for seller credits or a price reduction in the beginning noting these as issues. 

The neighborhood has a ton of potential and the home needed some cosmetic upgrades.

Just have a few conversations with different lenders and banks and you will find out quickly which is the best option for you.As for finding off market properties, if you can find something off-market it's likely going to lead you into the path of being able to build good sweat equity and taking on some repairs/cosmetic upgrades yourself which is a huge win!