I'm sure there are other strategies available and would greatly appreciate all insight others are using to pay off and reuse their HELOCs.David Greene suggests that if you use a HELOC for an investment, get the money back in 18 months or less.

The sellers don’t want to return the earnest money, creating more problems.If anyone has experience with this, could you advise on legal options?

I'd think about the proximity to these activities before spending any money. 

If you are able to put the property in a business name and separate the flow of money and put a wall between personal and business you can protect your personal assets.Taxes - It is going to make things a lot easier at tax time to show your CPA what your expenses have been. 

However after all the work thats required which includes landscape, parking lot, fencing lighting and interior/exterior work, it looks like the presumed cost of remodeling it will be double that, although Im not positive (still taking bids).Ive priced a comparable property in our area which has similar square footage and lot size and they seem to be going between $700-800k, and so my question is: based on a higher than expected construction cost which is necessary to finish our project, one which will exceed the amount of money of what a similar property goes for in our neighbrhood, should I continue with this project, or an alternative plan would be to simply beautify it for approximately 100-150k and ditch the plans, and flip it instead for approximately 700-800k now that its zoned commercial.My fear is that if I do invest the moneys to finish the project over the budget I initially priced it for, and the business doesnt take off, I would initially lose money on this investment.Thank you for taking the time reading this.

You should have this lined up and understand the options before you commit yourself to anything Especially if you are using hard money or any other then your own cash.

BUT, just supposing we could afford the house...I'm wondering how I get extra money on my loan to do put in the additional kitchenette and move the laundry room.

It's great to have you here.Here are some recommendations for you:Find and connect with other BP members that are in your area: http://www.biggerpockets.com/m...Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/a...Read Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/r...Check out BP Money Podcast: https://www.biggerpockets.com/..Wishing you the best!

Purchase price: $140,000 Sale price: $260,000 We funded this deal entirely through private and hard money, allowing us to invest without using any of our own money.

I know it sounds simple on the surface but detailing out how this money is handled when things don't go to plan could become more involved.