I would like to leverage a property - request some insight

[Sam Sagor]

The quick of it is family has agreed to take a loan to get us into a house... I'm looking to loan 100k-200k and the owner is open to carrying the rest of 400K. What we have to work with is a beachfront property in Hawaii owned full and clear with a small house on it. I want to be able to use this equity somehow. It's worth at least 300k but unfortunately it is in a historical area in the "bay of refuge" and the house has been updated with some unpermitted additions (of staircases and an extra bathroom.) This clashes with the codes against changing the footprint in any way. So I can't ask for an appraisal because they could theoretically tear the house down - the last appraisal was done in the 1990s.

So which of these options sounds workable:

1 - Lend on the land / and or house. Is there a way to secure a loan using this property without an onsite appraisal? I've seen somewhere about online appraisals but I doubt that would work here, what kind of lender would use them if so?

2 - Alternatively, Is there a way to structure the property into it instead of taking a loan? This would be in lieu of a large downpayment.

3 - Signature loans? Or another type of loan... can this secure them? The property owner is willing to take the loan she has the property paid off, a car no debt. Excellent credit - but makes just about 30k a year. I can co-sign, if such is possible but that only adds income of another 30k credit is average and only own a car, no debt. We can get 25k for 4.2 at the local credit union but where do you go for larger loans?

This is a question of is there any way to use this to get a loan at this point. If not we will probably walk on this one but appreciate any input on a way to get 100k in hand. The deal I’m looking at could not work but the cash in hand could be a great start to getting a home in a high priced area like Hawaii.
Thank you for helping me determine if this has potential.

[Michael Seeker]

I don't understand why you can't have an appraisal?

Appraisers do not look for code violations such as stairs/bathrooms. They may flag a giant fire hazard, but all they do is walk through the property, takes some pics and look at comps.

Unless things are done way differently in Hawaii, why would the appraiser ever contact the local gov entity that would have to do an INSPECTION to produce any type of code violations?

If things are "normal" in Hawaii, you can just call up a bank, ask to finance and they'll send an appraiser to the house. The guy/gal won't really care about anything other than putting an accurate price tag on the place.