A primary res that has a MIL apt, ADU, Casita or Carriage House vs a standard plex or basement apt. 

If the footings are good you can just use a jack to lift the carriage beam and then shim it up and sister joists as needed.

Consider building refinancing and holding, but do so with a carriage house above garage so you can rent out and essentially have 2 rental units.  

If you are on a single family parcel I've got a buddy that has put up a couple carriage houses in the back of his lots on properties he owns.

Worth with Robin Carriager, DFW Real Estate Investment Group.Reasonable costs, good mix of new and experienced investors.   

Bad plan man, I used to drive the horse carriage tours in a Charleston and know the market intimately.  

I couldn't find any readily available services for small properties (mine is technically a "house hack" because my property is a SF residence with a mother in law suite and a separate carriage house. i'm small potatoes to bigger companies), so I'll need to install my own water and electrical submeters. any suggestions?   

We have $15,000 in cash savings.About the property: The property is a 3/1 primary house with a 2/1 carriage house (guest house, ADU).

The building you describe of your friends parents: main house with 3-4 apartments in the back part of the house or in a separate building (perhaps a converted carriage house), is very much like what I describe above.

I've tried multiple times over the years to get in touch with the owner of the garage unit (it's a carriage house with people living there), and have never gotten a phone call or response back.