The sheer cost and volume of massive ongoing direct mail, bird dogging, etc that goes into what they do is a serious effort and one to be respected.

Doing things in the right order matters as in most rental markets it would be harder to get good investment returns for example on refinishing hard wood floors for a rental... buyers appreciate/expect refinished floors more than the typical renter... you also would not want to have 5 years of wear on refinished floors to then put it up for sale.Do all that and in 5 years you can still decide to keep it you will likely have massively increased the appraisal value, do a COR and fund your next deal. 

Planning on doing a massive plumbing, electrical, and remodeling job for a 2 story mixed use building my family owns.

but I will take a guess at what your askingif the developer is going to bust this into lots and you stay in you just lost your tax advantages and will be deemed a dealer at the highest tax rates.sell now no risk.. and best tax treatment you could 1031.if its one property and your saying should I partner and they are going to build an apartment on it and we will keep it.. that's different.. but you lose control because your now going to put a massive amount of debt on it.. all though in your area not too risky given market conditions.. and really depends on your developer  known, reputable and stable ?

Most people use the sites to get ballpark numbers and never use them, which is killing the contractor on those sites and will eventually lead to those sites shutting down (Angie's List already was sold for a massive loss to HA) 

if you have 12k per year to spend on networking and education then you can travel to a LOT of seminars, buy a lot of books, spend time on this site (free), and expand your network massively.

Just trying to learn all I can.Any and all tips welcome as I feel like I just opened the door to a massive mansion of information with thousands of rooms to explore.

I always hear about corporations, Robert Kiyosaki drills corporations into your head for better tax rates, along with Warren Buffet, and multiple other articles/ books I read.

Your credit will take a massive hit which may not be worth the interest savings of 18months compared with potentially worse terms on a new mortgage down the road (some lenders give rate discounts tiered with credit scores).I did exactly what you are proposing and have been wondering if I should just pay it all back. 

You can't use GCs on flips unless you have a massive margin.