Knowing that area very well, I would say keep the garage.

The information contained in this post is not to be relied upon.

Can speak Portuguese fairly well.

As also mentioned, there is the local jurisdiction who is overseeing the permits and inspecting the work as well.

Well if you think the guys hanging out at home depot are contractors .

A well connected agent can also tap into their network.. for instance, probate attorneys might know of people seeking short-term solutions.

As well, does interior design qualify as a real estate business? 

There are conventional options as well to keep it in your LLC if it's vested in one now.  

One year after I used that property to pull a HELOC and this year used that money to purchase an off market 4 family property in Clinton for well under market value, which I just recently finished all of the repairs and upgrades on.

@Jonathan Blanco, I'm and investor and a licensed mortgage broker so I've been on both sides of this conversation.I would look for a lender that (1) listens to you and understands your strategy and needs (hint: it's not always money), (2) has experience working with clients executing your strategy and brings more to the table than just cash - be it advice, relationships, deal-team partners, etc., (3) gives you viable options and explains the pros and cons of each option and (4) you enjoy interacting with - this should be a relationship, not a transaction.Once you find a few lenders like this (and you should have relationships with more than one), then you can start comparing rates and fees.