I am working on my third construction loan with the same bank, and they are getting to know me.  

(c) The licensing requirements of this Article do not apply to: (1) any person who is employed as a code enforcement official by the State of Illinois or any unit of local government, while acting within the scope of that government employment; (2) any person licensed by the State of Illinois while acting within the scope of his or her license; or (3) any person engaged by the owner or lessor of residential real property for the purpose of preparing a bid or estimate as to the work necessary or the costs associated with performing home construction, home remodeling, or home repair work on the residential real property, provided such person does not hold himself or herself out, or advertise himself or herself, as being engaged in business as a home inspector.

Regardless of that degree I got into construction because I felt more comfortable in construction.  

It will be difficult to find private money based on your income so your best bet might be to take on a partner in order to do this deal.  

With higher end properties in say a mid west market were Curt is remember you can buy BRAND new construction for 140 to 160k a door this is what buyers will compare to your 20 YO house thats been a rental.. to get retail value you would need a major renovation.I have been doing some renovation deals in the mid west last 3 years and you have to totally dial them in to get anywhere close to an appraised ARV or what you think is retail.. and I mean totally ... buyers in these markets have an over abundance of choices.. you may find that TINY pocket that is hot but other than that I think my statement is pretty accurate based on my personal experience in the mid west marekt place since 2002.

If you can self-fund the tentative map process, I would *imagine* (I don't know for sure) that you could find a bank-like financier for all the construction work in order to get the final.Unless you're quite experienced or have significant assets to pledge as collateral, I haven't heard of someone doing debt-only financing for a project like this.  

If I were a betting person, I would bet they won't just move out at the end of their tenancy and that you may be headed for a holdover eviction...I hope I am wrong!

Regardless of the degree I got I stayed in construction because I felt moe comfortable there.  

Since it's not an option, you have an installment contract, you also have performed construction work on the property which puts you in a different category under Dodd-Frank, no financing from contractors.

We use Mac from Urban Construction for most of our stuff, call him at (909) 732 7434.