I am now working as an engineer in the Twin Cities, but have plans of moving to Austin, TX with my wife to house-hack and work in the more plentiful tech market over there. 

It's usually best to talk with your neighbors about your plans and get their support as one of the variance tests is that the requested relief does not cause a public health issue or alter the essential character of the neighborhood.Try googling "tests for a variance in [your state]" and talk with your local zoning department.

Scammers do exist, and it’s smart to verify a lender’s legitimacy before moving forward.Check Reviews and References: Look for reviews on trusted platforms like BiggerPockets or Google.

@Anade DavisHi Anade, You’re on the right track with reaching out to your survey and engineering company—they often have strong connections to local contractors.

I hired a surveyor,  engineer and ran through the process with the city myself. 

Google permit expeditor or ask the county who typically is used.4.

Google the term UBIT.Tom Wheelwright has a chapter on why you don't want to do this in his book Tax Free Wealth.

An additional benefit of a detailed engineering-based Cost Segregation Study is that it can increase potential insurance premium savings as well as provide support for the property tax appeals process.

@Vidit Maini,I'm a structural engineer in the Atlanta area.

You can read about the differences here: Cost Segregation Study Approaches ExplainedLet’s first start with what the approaches:Detailed Engineering Approach from Actual Cost RecordsDetailed Engineering Cost Estimate ApproachSurvey or Letter ApproachResidual Estimation ApproachSampling or Modeling Approach"Rule of Thumb" ApproachSo which of these approaches is required by the IRS?