I had a good conversation with QI today and confirm the information (as you stated it).

I would recommend reaching out to your banks if you have not done so already to at least get that preliminary conversation out of the way.

This property has a garage conversion which is helping with half of my mortgage How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

How’s the conversation go?

Just know your contractor friends will only put up with so much of this so tag along, ask a lot of questions and learn quickly….also, record those conversations as you will never remember the details or take notes fast enough.

What is the best way for me to approach the conversation so that both parties can have a win-win?

I met with a potential client for an addition and during the conversation investment properties came up.

I will discuss it further with the contractor to try to see if his insurance will cover.If I call my own insurance and discuss this, but not formally file a claim, would they still take and note that conversation as a claim?

Love how you want to seize the opportunity...Hard to give advice without knowing more details about your specific situation, but things you may want to consider: 1) Take a deep look at the numbers, whats the property currently worth, how much would the renovation cost, whats your ARV, how much can you rent the place out for, what will be all of your other expenses, etc. 2) What would be your ROI if you move forward with the conversion vs if you made an investment elsewhere? 

Nothing says illegal conversion like 100% shared utilities...