The problem is most loan officers will not know this up front because they fail to do a "pre-underwrite" and get a "Loan commitment" versus a pre-approval letter.regardless of you using your own money they will "Not" use the higher appraisal value they must go off of the legal sales contract.

With a background as a Navy Supply Corps Officer, where I developed strong skills in leadership, project management, and financial operations, I am now dedicated to using these skills to make a meaningful impact in the real estate industry.

Also, I am a loan officer if you need to talk financing.

I'll drop a link to schedule a call down below if you would like to discuss the HELOC situation further, as I am a licensed loan officer. https://calendly.com/tycoutts

A quality pair of dress shoes for the office?

When hiring a designer, look at their past projects and speak with a few different offices.

I am familiar with how to view all assessors info, search deeds and recorded documents/etc per jurisdiction, and I do (enjoy) actual in depth recorded document/ research in person at the county offices too of course.  

Your local zoning officer and Planning Commission can help with this on the municipal side.

I am a loan officer licensed around the United States and would love to answer any questions you may have.

Last resort I usually call into the zoning office and have them look up the address to tell me specifically how it is zoned and what's allowed :)