However, by the time she gets a job and we wait 6-12months, the value of our home may change for the worseI just hope we don't lose out on the equity that was built up.

I submit that @Steve Vaughan is absolutely correct this is a very very dangerous play for the average person who has not demonstrated any ability to save money.. you just bury yourself in debt and if your deals don't go well... ( See many storied of first timers losing money) now your really Fubared ... you lost money and you have a mountain of CC debt which will absolutely hammer your once pristine FICO.Now if you have an AMEX black card with no limit or Very high limit say 200 to 500k well then go for it.

If you sue and lose, you have to pay their attorneys fees as well.

How can we structure the deal in a way that we can do the repairs ourselves without the risk of either party losing out in case the deal falls through?

Are you losing money?

One thing about the areas that you're looking at is that there are some very strong, sophisticated players that you'll be going up against.

"Lose to win".

@Jacob CasarezI'm not losing any sleep. 

And you need to be REAL CAREFUL with what you are venturing to do, because it is fraught with risk, and I'd hate to see you lose all of that money you have made in your other successful careers. 

As an investor without large amounts of capital, you stand to lose loads of money if you try and add apples (actual, known, real numbers) to oranges (best guess numbers).