@Keith AngellFrom my experience, both a HELOC and refinancing have their advantages depending on your goals.

That is often a matter of opinion and will depend on the attitude of your municipality.Most municipalities do not require neighborhood approval, but will offer the public opportunities to provide input which will be considered.

I have some experience here, and my answer will be it depends. 

It depends on your financial strength, the quality of the property, how many properties you own, etc.I like to start with one significant expense and three months of vacancy.

I think they used to go up to like 80-85% CLTV depending on credit score.

Single-family homes and small multifamily properties (duplexes, triplexes) are solid options depending on your goals.

I would still do due diligence such as whole property inspection, lead inspection (depending on when the property was built), appraisal, etc. 

depending on how backed up the county is it can e take a few months for court date. in essex county it took my mother in law about 8 months or so for the full process. she had an attorney, not sure if that sped anything up

I think you can go as high as 15% but it's cutting into your margins and depends if you are a GC yourself or not. 150k is close to a million or more.

I'm assuming if its a full build out it ran in the area of $600K +/- depending on size....odd to think it got built out without a lease or other commitment from someone.Ultimately in my world (retail medicine) it comes down to the physical location and attributes as it relates to the surrounding demographics and populations.