Now, your soil profile will not change that dramatically over your life time... and if a couple of inches of topsoil washes away, it will not affect the pile.

Hi all,My rental property in Houston flooded (about 6 inches of water inside the entire house).

I would advise against buying something you can't afford, even though you may qualify for a loan.I'm not familiar with ADU; however, I know many people who have converted their garage without permits and rent them out.

Even if you were buying another primary (which you aren't - you are converting your primary to a rental, then buying a new primary) the bank doesn't care as long as your DTI ratio and credit score can handle it. 

It would not be advantageous to convert to individual HVAC and metering, as it would cost $10-$15k/unit to do so.

My personal big mistakes have been - buying home with converted garage and only car port (buyers here in So Cal, especially the guys, want/need a garage), bought a house with 55 stairs from street to front door - never again, and largest financial mistake was not going with my gut and chose to go with a new agent to list a multi million dollar property rather than my proven agent or myself.

The wall is now moved back to where the studio converts to a 500 sqft 1 bedroom apt with a decent living room.

        Purchased this one for $89k with a $60k Rehab $249k ARV and as with most rehabs it's taking longer and costing more...Besides that due to Hurricane Harvey and an already tight sub-market I am happy to say it looks like our ARV may be inching up over the next month or so which is GRRRREAT!

Had a maple tree fall on a pool enclosure, but only caused a 6 inch rip in the screen.  

You may want to convert to gas for heating the 2nd floor and upgrade the electric to accommodate baseboard heat on the first floor since I'm assuming you'll hold this property long term so you'll want to make heat the tenants responsibility.