I'm a Real Estate Investing Entrepreneur that buys houses for cash using a variety of non-traditional strategies.

However, the local economy was doing well, the dollar to pound was favorable (we got loans from a local British lender), and we bought slight fixers to live-in and improve, with a goal of selling for a profit and making gains on the currency trade.  

Then you could get in, add value and make your money there until you're in a better position to close traditionally or in a more attractive creative manner.

Today, I use both the traditional spreadsheet method paralleled with Personal Captial.These are the three things I try to track on regular basis in my life. 1) Networth 2) Life Goals : Business, Family, Personal etc.3) Weight / Fat % content 

If he is going to rehab and refinance I would give less favorable terms because that is going to take him longer in most cases than a traditional rehabwhat is the experience level of the borrower? 

My situation: self-employed but tax-return history not enough for 2 years, so seems traditional refinance is not gonna go through.

Thanks @Brandon Hall I guess I should move on from that traditional thinking of local face-to-face notion :-)

What interest rate would you be paying on the increased leverage to get to 100% on the SFR since many traditional loans will not go that high on a cash out refinance so your terms may actually be higher than the leverage on the condo.  

@Justin ReppYou are correct, self-directed Solo 401k is a great option and in addition to other benefits the contribution limits for this plan are significantly higher compared to Traditional IRA ($53,000 for 2015) therefore if your new career as a realtor successful and you are making money you can grow your account very quickly with new contributions and will be able to do some deals on your own soon. 

Smaller local or regional banks will be your best bet for traditional lenders.