To protect yourself, I would establish 2 separate agreements one for the construction contract with the lender and another profit-sharing agreement with the lot owner.

Your definition is correct for "legal non-conforming".The "legal" part of "non-conforming" is dropped when it doesn't apply so most commonly people call these units "non-conforming", "finished", "in-law suite/unit", or "bonus unit".Non-conforming: Any property that doesn't meet current zoning requirements.Legal non-conforming: A non-conforming property that was lawfully established under previous zoning regulations and is allowed to continue its use.Based on his posts @Mario Morales is referring to a non-conforming unit.

My objective is to establish my network in the region prior to my arrival.

Russ has a lot of creative solutions and uses established case law to work in ways that some of the more "cut & dry" intermediaries do not.

Establish a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT): By placing the property into a CRT, you can receive a charitable deduction, defer capital gains taxes, and receive income from the trust.

My Why is to establish a life of freedom.

I’d search out an established local operator and pay them to operate it.

Eliminate debt, establish a budget, and save.

However, it's essential to fully comprehend the terms and conditions and carefully estimate cash flow, factoring in potential market fluctuations.FHA Loan and Work History:Waiting for another year to establish a two-year work history for better FHA loan approval terms is a patient strategy.

Agreed mate,I'm all about taking personal responsibility and I have been swindled many times in a similar fashion like many feel on this thread.It seems like these investors including myself in other instances get negligent and don't read between the lines.Especially after trust and a relationship have been established, we become gullible and don't second guess or question.Maybe it's greed for some but in my instance it wasn't.Just innocent and trusting stupidity (No, I'm never a victim as that is ******** mentality in my book).I had some spare $$$ and wanted to diversify in other assets through folks I considered friends and trustworthy business partners.Didn't even think twice to look things over.Looking back, it all makes sense now but it's easy being a general after the battle heheI only blame myself here...I mentioned in the thread further above that I lost to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.Again, it is what it is and it's a lesson.Only myself to blame and have always taken the high road in such instances.As much as I'd like to fight for justice and go down the legal path, it just isn't worth the time and emotion.Upwards and onwards.Become better and make more than you have lost.Each to their own and that's just my personal "modus operandi"