First, business applications don't have online forms, so I had to fill out their PDF and fax it to them.

@Julian Dover do you now have total ownership of the property or does the husband have partial ownership? 

https://www.har.com/content/newsroom/Houston Real Estate Highlights in October Single-family home sales increased 4.7 percent year-over-year, with 6,716 units sold;Days on Market (DOM) for single-family homes was 57 versus 61 a year earlier;Total property sales rose 6.0 percent, with 8,127 units sold;Total dollar volume jumped 9.3 percent to $2.3 billion;The single-family home median price climbed 3.6 percent to $234,653, an October high;The single-family home average price also achieved an October record, rising 3.5 percent to $294,500;Single-family homes months of inventory reached a 3.9-months supply, up fractionally from 3.7 months last October, but below the national supply of 4.4 months reported by NAR;Townhome/condominium sales dropped 2.9 percent, with the average price up 4.9 percent to $206,838 and the median price down 2.2 percent at $152,900;Leases of single-family homes rose 7.3 percent with the average rent down 1.1 percent to $1,754;Volume of townhome/condominium leases fell 6.8 percent with the average rent up 1.2 percent to $1,550.

For underwriting, it is total cost (purchase, renovation, holding costs, closing), then looking at the ROI/IRR over the life of the project.

We live in a duplex ourselves, so we have a total of three units.

Make sure you get three bids min for each and check their online reviews etc.. 

A PM that is that intimately involved with the total package of its clients will have knowledge of owners looking to get out, properties getting ready to hit the market, etc that the average PM may not know a whole lot about. 

I was told that pilings add about 10% to total cost so don't see that as a major factor.

If you're totally new to the area, I would look for a rental like what your are considering renting out. 

Let me know if you or someone you know might be interested.Loan Requested:$40,000 (secured by a second deed of trust)Interest Only Rate: 8%Total Loan to ARV (After Repair Value): 76%Loan Length: 6 MonthsMonthly Payments: $267Total Interest Paid Up to 6 Months: $1,600 (plus the principle of $40k back then; if money returned earlier, it'll be however many months the money is out)Is this a good deal?