While I will still lose money on it in the long run, I'm at least breaking even on it monthly and no longer have the headache of it. 

And it's sturdier IMO....no posts to rot out..

Nothing illegal about doing that, but if caught, the lender may call the loan due and if you don't correct the situation or pay the loan off, they willstart mortgage foreclosure.3) You could also go the HELOC route to tap the equity in the home, but the 12-month owner-occupancy will also apply AND the interest rate on the HELOC will fluctuate with the Fed Fund Rate.4) You could do a cashout refi as an investment property, but that will be at an interest rate 0.5-1% higher than owner-occupied rate.Suggest you meet with 2-3 lenders to explore your options about the above.Once you have access to funds, recommend you buy a 2-4 unit with 20-25% down. - You can buy owner-occupied, live in one unit, and fix up and rent the other unit(s).- If you're handy, recommend buying a property in the worst condition you can tolerate.

It sounds like you have an un-permitted unit, which is essentially always a risk since there has been no notice to the AHJ that it exists and they can therefore initiate a code case to have it removed in most cases.

I'd recommend looking at costs. your build cost is going to be well over other homes because of the fixed costs like slab, Hvac, roof, etc. check the market drivers and weight the benefits of short term versus long term. long term is no furniture and help pays mortgage but at this size it doesn't really cover everything. we didn't find a lot of economies of scale in single family detached. can you build more than one unit?

And no; if you own 50% and your friend owns 50% he qualifies for exclusion on 50% of the sale. 

Things that could get in the way im putting out there now to make sure no surprises after someone does the work to get me quotes- New York State - Appraisal will barely be past 100k if that- 98% of my income comes from my rental portfolio (thats a new fun rule (to me) I just learned about)- Prefer something without a ton of fees and such.

. - PM has no breakup/termination fee- PM does not take project management fees, except on large or complicated CapEx projects exceeding $5,000. 

Stick to Your TypeWarren Buffett once said, “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.”Apply this principle here:Decide on your property type.Say no to anything outside of that type.You can always pivot down the road, but starting with focus is crucial to building momentum.

source_impression_id=p...Here is the code section from the 2021 IRC:Habitable Spaces, Hallways, Basements with habitable spaces and hallways shall have a minimum ceiling height of no less than 7 feet.Bathroom and Laundry Rooms shall have a minimum ceiling height of no less than 6 feet 8 inches.A room that has a sloped ceiling shall at no point have a ceiling height less than 5 feet and no less than 50% of the floor area shall have a ceiling height less than 7 feet.