Has anyone else, in a similar situation, had any luck getting a HELOC or Equity loan on a property with an ADU and JADU?

DSCR loans?

You can also meet other industry professionals like loan officers and real estate agents that can give you market specific real-world advice.

Any reason not mentioning DSCR Loans? 

While I don’t loan my Time Machine out to anyone for obvious reasons, I thought I could solve future problems.

Hi Oli,House-hacking is one of the best ways to get started if you can qualify for the loans.

My issue is that it would take me another couple year to regenerate the capital that will be tied up in any potential property with a not great cash on cash return, and I know a lot of the power of real estate comes from leverage and loan paydown.

Consider the potential equity loss and cost to originate another loan versus your REI goals. 

The HML i have spoken with are ok with my living in one side as long i roll it over into a normal mortgage and pay them back for the initial loan once construction is complete.

For the Buyer to get the loan they will need to own the lot.