I ran into something similar a couple years back. Bought a lot in a subdivision with covenants that said construction had to start within a "reasonabl...

That's a smart approach with the before-and-after photos. Appraisers have a lot on their plate, and it's easy for them to miss subtle (but valuable) u...

It's probably a bit of both. From my experience, lenders definitely have internal incentives structured around refinancing—it's simply more profitable...