A civil engineer can/will quote you to take it from start to finish, but it will not be cheap and no guarantee the engineer gets it approved.

In the begining, keep it simple and do the average finish that is in that neighberhood.Be careful with the Internet and the dishonest people use it to try to emotional sale you.  

You can add bathrooms, finish your basement, and create bedrooms with a few simple clicks. 

I have a similar issue and will be refinancing to a conventional loan after I finish my rehab.

We are not staining, just sand then topcoat with a clear finish.

Not sure if contacting the building department will cause issues that they may then find a way to not finish our job? 

An additional 64 cubic feet of interior space in a 432sf home doesn't sound like much but you will see when the project is finished just how valuable that space was and how much more open it enhanced the overall ambience .This home will be literally stripped to the bones and rebuilt from the frame up.

I don't have $200,000 personally to rehab a place so I wanted to go the 203k route.I have gone through the process of getting pre-approved for a 203k and have been advised that I will have to do A LOT of leg work finding 203k approved contractors, and working with the consultant that will monitor the process from start to finish etc.I have decided to go 203k over FHA because I want my place to be damn near brand new so that I won't have to worry about roofs, water heaters etc. for the first few years.

Wow.Fast forward another two years, we had just purchased our second duplex and was about finished working on it.

Ask questions (write these down too if you need) such as:-Why are you moving-Where did you live before-What did you like about it there-Where do you work/What do you do for a living Then if you feel good about it after that go ahead and tell them about your offering and make sure you preface your requirements with a sentence like: "Great, now here are the exact requirements to rent this unit...blah blah blah blah" Right down your list.Once you finish, be certain to ask "Do you meet all of those criteria?"