Following this, I consider it another pro of our situation that I have the ability to do significant property renovations myself, and between my wife and I, we make a pretty good design team.

Ironically, platforms designed for real estate (Zillow, Apartments.com, Rentler, etc.) produce very few tenants for me, compared to FB Marketplace (and I also find a lot of their functionality to be user un-friendly, from the landlord side). ...you'd think that platforms custom-made for real estate would make the process a snap for landlords, but it takes me a lot longer to post and manage rental listings on Zillow or Rentler than it did on Craigslist.

BiggerPockets is full of resources designed to help you along your journey, whether you are just getting started or a seasoned investor.

I've never invested in commercial real estate but the price they want to sell for seems very attractive.

The 1031 exchange is designed to give you a loophole: You are not considered to be selling and buying, you are simply trading your property for a different one or ones.

., how much design work does the civil engineer need to do. 

I have a general contractors and interior design license.

I am super attracted to the idea because I love to fix and flip, and the emount of money to get started is so much less. 

Congrats - love the design

What you want to steer clear of is the design firms types that will tell you that not only will it be expensive but take a ton of time.