The other issue is ROI - you'll need quite a bit of plumbing; if you have a lot of galvanzied pipes in poor condition and low pressure you may want to consider pex anyway, at that point you could seperate the systems out.

@Mike Pauze if you are looking for a renovation style loan, search here for Alex Bekeza...he works with investors and is active on BPIt's important to define the loan product up front...some conventional lenders may not have the product you are after.

The Rich Dad/Poor Dad series is another recommendation. 

Tech will always have a "Next Gen" product which is currently focused on Consumerism (TV's, phones, PC's, entertainment). 

I would reach out to a couple more lenders with your exact issue and let them know what you found about the Fannie Mae product being more lenient specifically and see if they will look into it for you.

In San Diego average purchases with realistic expense allocation have poor initial cash flow (negative cash flow) at 80% LTV. 

Really, their jobs are the same sell you a product and make a percentage.

I can afford to carry the payments with my current salary but i would definitely be house poor hahah

If you put down the standard 25% for investment property, they would CF slightly better but be a pretty poor return on cash.

Surely the loan can be moved to another product that will accept this condition.