You can't make the yard bigger, or the street quieter, or build an excellent Elementary school near House #1.For house #2, show me an applicant with a child going into 1st grade, and I'll show you a good, stable tenant that is not moving anywhere else for the next 6 years.

@Natasha Graves Finance is a skill that is always applicable - no matter the business.

Most of the companies helping with act 20 (accounting firms / lawyers) will give free consultations, but watch out, most want to charge lots of money to actually do the application (I paid $7000 for advice and 12500 for setting up the corp / doing the application) which most of it was a waste).

The only way to know for sure is to take a look at your City's permit webpage and even go down to the permit application office(s) and ask.  

If it's a property somewhere other than Bay area it will not be owner-occupied, I haven't looked into finance besides submitting my FHA application. 

All you tell any applicant that their application has been denied.

Interview them and hire them just like a employer interviews a job applicant. 

It won’t be the first time they’ve had questions about seasoning periods, reserve requirements (if applicable), etc.

Don't want to put words in anyone's mouth, but I think what @Scot Howat may be referring to is a scenario where you "season the funds" for 60 days and then you tell the lender (via an application or simple response to a question) that the funds are not a gift. 

What we are currently discussing does not apply strictly to the communities that my company develops, the investment strategy is applicable to any well located townhome or condominiums Inside the Loop.