Does black make sense here, or would another color or treatment work better?

If that makes sense.

Working with W2 employees was always my skillset, but it's not something I can do anymore with our kiddos.Fair enough, that makes sense! 

At the end of the day, the numbers have to make sense.

It’s a balancing act, and sometimes the numbers don’t always make sense.

In regards to the tax assessment, it might make more sense if you prorate the land value over the total value and apply it to your purchase price 

They are common sense but many still seem to ignore them.

Could someone please advise an actionable step or game plan I can follow to tap into my equity correctly (if that makes sense here) whether that's HELOC, Cash-Out or another strategy?

As I have been researching options I have found lots of online options (Lili, Bluevine, etc.) but I am curious if it makes more sense to go with a local brick and mortar bank.

Then a wise man who was already successful doing what I wanted to be doing shared some common sense that I took to heart: settle on ONE strategy to get started and block out all the other noise, the BS, and the well intentioned but misinformed friends and relatives telling you that you can’t do this.