HI Laurie,This one is going to be a balance of home sentiment, personal financial confidence based on your particular situation, and the choice of product.Choosing the right product will also be based on your perception of financial risk and your goals as well.A line or HELOC has its pros because you only pay interest if you use it which is nice because if you dont use it you dont pay anything other than the 0-75 dollar admin fee (most heloc’s have this and some dont just make sure to leave it on auto pay to avoid forgetting and incurring a late on your credit report).The downside with the HELOC is the insidious variable rate feature (margin + prime which is currently at 7% as of this writing).

@Mark Small, you’re on target that standard VA home loans are intended to put military members and veterans into move-in ready homes that don’t require significant repairs.There is a separate loan product called the VA Renovation loan, which essentially packages a home purchase loan and a home improvement loan into a single product.  

Also, maybe important players such as the architect, contractor, and others should be investors in the project, believers in the vision and they’ll have skin in the game so the product will be made well.2.

If your investment strategy is to house hack, the most suitable financing means will be through a conventional lender or government-backed loan product (FHA).

I've heard good reviews but personally I would still be hesitant to install a wood based flooring product in a bathroom.Whatever you do, stay away from the super cheap stuff.

They don’t offer a 30 year product.

I think it is going to be hard to check the low down payment, low interest rate, and long am period boxes, but small banks are largely free to create products the way they want.

(Even with GC, Code enforcement will find things after the fact, so wait before you fix or update) I go with this option because our properties represent us, it is our products, our brand.

The 5-10 unit multifamily is a pretty distinct financing niche - most options outside of a traditional bank or credit union will likely underwrite it based on the asset not your personal income

There are plenty of ways to extend the life quite a bit and still have a modern product.