Could be sooner permitting what comes on the market that would best suit us therefore this is where the HELOC would mainly help.

Ive done all my research (plans, permits, contractors, etc) and feel like it's a no brainer and a fairly streamlined approval process in my area.

You cannot beat the power of an ADU for peace of mind, leveraging your home to pay less monthly and reduce your expenses and give you the experience and confidence of doing constriction, getting permits and working with the city and managing a very easy rental.

The local permit office is also known for its efficiency and helpfulness.3.

As a non EU citizen, I will need a permit to purchase certain types of properties, except for residential (unit in an apartment). 

We aren't permitted to charge tenants utilities unless they're separately metered in Delaware

To @Mike Dymski point about density bonus for low income they tried that with new builds and that caused a rush of permits to go in before the law was past and very few projects after the law. 

Any violations, open permits, etc.?

Quote from @Kevin Akers: If you have everything else in place (financing, permits, etc) and have underwritten the deal where the numbers make sense you can work on raising the 50K from private investors. 

Quote from @Kar Sun: It appears the law requires you to allow them to attend, inspect together, and mutually agree to a list of damages: https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-66-property/tn-code-sect-...Print that off and follow it.Make it clear to her that she is not permitted to bring guests.