One city near me is checking all garage enclosures, giving nice notice to get them permitted, which they may or may not grant, and if you don't get it properly permitted by December 31, says they will start fining people. 

Take control of the situation yourself, and if you want her out, then give proper legal notice.  

That said, even with photos, comping homes in Detroit proper is extremely difficult.

Here is the new response:  "The Terms and Conditions were not properly displayed for the cardholder during the order process or on the same screen as the checkout screen before the final checkout.

And preparing a building site and installing a driveway are further considerations if I even decide to build something there.

Because the existing house was too low the developer followed the rough location of the old sewer line and installed a new sewer line to connect to the existing house. 

But ultimately, any cost to the syndicator is ultimately a cost to the deal, which means that at the end of the day it costs the investor.Investors that can find quality sponsors, and do proper due diligence on them, can save an entire layer of cost by investing directly with those carefully selected sponsors versus investing through crowdfunding portals.Good luck!

Just keep the amount within any local rules and give proper notice.

One way to get tax benefits while you're living there could be installing solar panels or upgrading the energy efficiency of the home. 

And if they are a hobbyist/part-time builder, then they should engage the proper professionals, i.e. a title officer, civil engineer, architect, contractor et al to assist in reviewing the project's feasibility.