Anyone have any advice for me in this creative real estate financing forum? 

But I guess that means I’m going to have to get creative about my business

(Disclaimer: I'm definitely anewbie, so sorry if this question is elementary) I've done some reading about using creative financing, however I recently spoke with a loan officer about different ways that I could get a specific deal financed and her told me that it is illegal to get any financial assistance for your down payment (i.e. if you're going to get a mortgage on a property 100% of the down payment has to be your own money that got earned and cannot be money that was gifted or borrowed).Can anyone validate this?

Depending on City & State you may have a long trail of paperwork ahead.I mainly focus on cities that give you leeway to be creative. 

Because they are out of compliance with zoning, it seems that there could be some exposure to city violations, etc.One solution is to incorporate the garden into the 1st floor unit as an apartment with a basement.  

As the business owner, you must focus on the interactive, strategic, and creative aspects of your work – the high leverage activities that only YOU can do.Everything else should be delegated.The first step?

May require a tiny bit of creativity.

We are up for the challenge because we love the architecture and it is as much a creative endeavor/ hobby as an investment.

This will be my first time seeing either of them in person and from what I hear from other investors my mind will hurt from all the creative knowledge to be learned.

(Although, many of the LTC policies I see are so caveated that it wouldn't be difficult to replace the coverage they offer with some type of self-insuring plan.)I like creative thinking.