Also discuss with the contractor the time expected for the project if its small, mid or large and if it needs permits and how long would it take for permitting and all, also payment terms, make sure you go with payment terms that are fair to you and the contractor (so many terms but most common is monthly based on completed work with an upfront for materials) and ALWAYS keep the last payment until project is closed (retainage) and you do your walkthrough and if there's any issues you write them down and provide the contractor with (punch list to release the retainer once they're corrected or fixed). read about how to deal with contractors and always ask for references but it really depends on how big the job is, personally I wouldn't spend too much time doing due diligence on small jobs such as door latches or shelving rather on additions, layout change and other scopes.Good luck!

Since we aren’t selling, do we still need a partial release?

Seeing how partisan the wording is on the White House’s press release/website, maybe the proposal is just as good as a cudgel to beat the other party with, so they can say it’s “their fault you aren’t getting it.”

Seller claims they never were served and Seller broker is not releasing based on Seller's word including saying they are seeking legal counsel (they have been seeking legal counsel since December). eXp MN state broker team has been unresponsive and very unhelpful throughout the process.

I released the co-signer after first year of timely payments.

After closing find a buyer for the unwanted property and conduct a partial release with my lender.I assume option 1 would require me to pay capital gains on the sale and I wouldn't have the ability to 1031 since I will not have owned the property longer than a year.

In particular, I understand that before partitioning I will need to have my mortgage lender release the lot from the lien.

@Amir Khan and @Jim Cummings, the app is currently being overhauled and is thisclose to release. 

It states that they will release funds in accordance to their procedures that are in place at the current time.

They considered anything about 85% and up to be value-add and anything below that to be more "redevelopment" since it often involved dark or vacant tenants, and re-leasing a center with no anchor can be very challenging.Of course, I am talking grocery anchored product, so of the 100k+ GLA, 50+ would be anchor.