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.

A quality pair of dress shoes for the office?

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 :) 

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

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.

My neighbor owns the local Real Estate office.