As I'm unable to get a traditional 30 fixed loan on this property I'm looking at other lending options. 

@Andrew Johnson I agree with with your approach to buying small suburbs and not traditional small towns.

They offer a seemingly unique credit card connection service for those who may have trouble attracting traditional forms of investment. 

I imagine that it will be tough to get traditional financing as college students (presumably) without full-time jobs, so you'll have to find a lender who's on board with your goals and can make it happen.Good luck!

Just like those smart, traditional financial planners teach us to do.Then again… what about all those infomercials I saw on TV?

Loans are typically short-term which is a good thing because interest rates are higher than rates for owner occupant, traditional loans.

The limit you are asking about is for personal mortgage loans in your name (traditional mortgages). 

I don't think a person who's behind in payments or who needs to sell a house fast or who wants to buy a house without a bank is thinking about "investments" in the traditional sense.

There were other hoops I had to jump through that I considered "non-traditional" but basically had everything done up front outside of an appraisal.

the building has not been maintained well at all so the trim, walls, all that are ready to be replaced.I can't speak to the insulation part, but I recently framed over a masonry wall for aesthetics ... still used 2x4s, only oriented them so the wider part (3.5") ran parallel to the wall and the wall only came in 1.5"+ drywall thickness ... the trick for electrical is that they sell "narrow" outlet boxes designed for this applications rather than the standard depth ones designed for framing the traditional way.