I think working on getting liquid capital for these projects is step one for me.

Everything always takes longer and is more costly than projected.

By the time an Inspector shuts down a project, and the homeowner goes to court/city/judge/whatever.....there is wasted time and money.As we all agree, just get a permit (if it is required) and do things right. :-) Even if you win the war, loosing the battle can easily wipe out all your profits and more.Think about that recent CA AirBnB case where the lady was in the guest house for almost 2 years with no rent?  

I got good at estimating renovation costs by making an initial estimate based on photos/walkthrough, drawing up a model like you see here, then once the project is finished, go to accounting, get the actual expense report for that property, and update the model.

@Otis Clayton To partner in real estate effectively, establish a clear structure like an LLC for liability protection or a Joint Venture for single projects.

. - Projects give us visibility on my projects- My CPA can easily access the reports for tax preparation.

@Tyler Rabanus your analysis was in the right mindset (covert the garage, renovate to add value), just this property was not working.

Depending on your level or preference of analysis, data and their providers are incredibly important and difficult to obtain when it comes to real estate underwriting.

I don't know your specific market all that well but have you done some analysis on your ADR during the high season X your high season occupancy rate and determined whether taking lower priced slow season bookings vs letting your property stay vacant during the winter averages out in your favor?

A picture is worth a 1000 words and a project we helped someone on in the UP was able to gain support and approval by getting renderings done showing what the finished project would look like.