We are having our roof replaced due to storm damage, however, when the shingles were removed another storm came through the area and caused a significant amount of water damage inside the house.

But of course, some (like your Lender) find it hard to resist slipping back into their pre-GFC ways!

When we stopped finding good deals about 5 or 6 years ago, we just started throwing every penny into paying down the principal across our fleet (paying off higher interest rates first, obviously).Looking back, we probably should have invested that money in the stock market because our interest payments were about 4 or 5%, and we could have doubled that with fairly safe stocks, but that's water under the bridge I guess. 

I added a decent amount into the house (new paint, new hot water heater, brand new kitchen, better layout) but I’m not sure if that’s enough for me to appraise for 20% equity. 

We want to know exactly what interest rate we’ll pay on a mortgage, what the water bill will be, if the property next door is thinking of selling, and everything else that has even marginal relevance.  

The water bill can be transferred to the tenant's name.

I love the idea of renovating your carriage house - does it have any water and electric hookups already?

New roof, new water heater, new Electrical panel, New HVAC, new Concrete driveway, new Concrete steps & walkout basement, Open space of kitchen and living room, fully finished basement with wet bar and new full bathroom, new windows.

There are many buildings with systems reaching the end of their life - Galvanized hot water risers, leaking vent stacks, aging window systems, outdated elevator and fire safety equipment.

When turning basements into ADUs, and the breaker box, furnace, and water heater are down there, what are best practices for handling them?