No back payments due, but there is a HUD loan for $7k from a previous forbearance.

I initially got a variable loan.

Cash out refi only if the rental income significantly exceeds the monthly payment and you want liquidity to invest elsewhere.2.You can maybe do a HELOC if you want a smaller loan that doesn’t involve refinancing the entire house.3.

When I looked at prices recently they look like they've gone up quite a bit but I know they vary a lot depending on the neighborhood. 

Your loan would be on a different property so no financing on the property you are buying. 

I have 2 options:- finance the construction pre-selling the apt, and take my profits (expected to be around 700K pre-tax); or- finance the construction with a 6-7%/year loan (collateral = my house), keep the 10 units, and once the building is completed in 24 months, rent them for circa 180K/ year gross.

I'd target areas near colleges or transit hubs for affordable properties, and I’d look into financing options like FHA loans or creative financing to make the most of my capital.

I will secure the loan for everything.

It looks like Kevin's and my markets vary. 

I love that you have specific goals for 2025 - I believe if we think it, write it, say it, and share it our goals are 10x more likely to come to fruition.Are you able to do option 2 and just house hack a 2-4 unit building and use a renovation loan which allows you to put down 3.5-5%I highly suggest getting to some local chicago meetup groups (we have an in person one on the 17th)...here is BPs list: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521-real-estate-events-...I also have a full list of the chicago meetups that I can share with you too if that'd be helpful.