Heard about some development going on in the West Philly neighborhood Parkside.

Do you advocate actually getting an actuary to develop the estimate for substantiation of the discount or is there a much easier and less costly option to complete the calculation?

If your investment location is in a growth area, you never know about the future development and  how it might drive the value up. 

General Liability:  Whether or not the property owner is also acting as Self GC will impact what types of Liability coverage will be needed. 

@Javier Pinedo consider a SEP IRA for self employed individuals.

Funny enough I married in to a family that does R/E development. 

Then you'll need a development plan showing where the roads, utilities, and homes will be.

As a community i bet we would all crowdfund a project with a quick turnaround (3-6 months) in between our deals for a reasonable return (5-10% depending the experience of the developer)2.

As far as your loan options, discuss that "Solely" with a Lender, as they will address all of the requirements including your self employment status and your current lease arrangement and how they affect qualifying for a loan. 

LA around the metro stops there are a lot of developments coming online, I can see multifamily in those areas getting into the oversupply territory.Where in LA are you looking?