To restate, the problem with commercial/portfolio/in-house lenders (ie. local banks and credit unions), is that they generally do not want to loan to out-of-area borrowers on 1-4 unit properties (ie.. residential stuff).Jimmy Moncrief - great to hear from an actual community banker that makes in-house loans to investors on 1-4 unit properties.

As a banker having worked on commercial property - small (6 units) and large (550 units), you have to include a few things that the bank appraisal would include.

Arms are for bankers, not investors.I do agree with Curt on a 15 year loan.

Good bankers are extremely helpful.

I am SoCal based mortgage banker, and I know extensively the northern california markets.

Here are the numbers if I would've done the project for 6 month project:Purchase Price - 125,000Closing cost buy - 1,000Building costs - 1,800 sf x 100 x 2 = 360,000 Sale Price - 360,000 x 2 = 720,000realtor and closing (8% of Sale price) - 57,600 (I would've retained 12,960 because I am an agent)Insurance - My insurance agent said about 10,000 for the year / 2 = 5,000Taxes - 1,300 / 2 = 650Mortgage payment (my banker can finance an investment for 10% down and they fund the other 90% at about 4.5% interest) - 450,000 amortized over 30 years = 2280 monthly x 6 = 13,680....

If he did something like that, he would never get another referral from the banker again.  

I'm a new REALTOR® affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Sunset Strip Office, West Hollywood, California.

Now I am not a banker but as far as your credit as long as the scores are pulled with in 30 days of each other it will not hit more than once as long as it is for the same reason. 

Banker asked me if I had collateral.