In Maryland, for the most part, it has been made an illegal practice with severe civil penalties.    

The question on the exam in question is clearly referencing this type of illegal flipping, which is still illegal.Now unethical flippers will most likely open themselves up to civil liability, which they probably have some protections against depending on what entity they use to do the flip in.

For professional fees; given estimates of   Civil- $2,500Structural- $2,500MEP- $3,000Architect-$4000Are these numbers typical?

My "real" job involves a high chance of litigation sometime in my career and I want to shield my rental properties from this. 

Money is made when there is a large degree of predictability.During the civil war a dozen eggs would cost a weeks wages.

We've got another situation ongoing where we actually had a first position lien, sued for damages, were awarded a FIFA lien against the owner, foreclosed, owner declared bankruptcy, and we're still going after it... almost 3 years of litigation and 5 figures in lawyer fees to get paid from one job.So, in conclusion... perform->pay doesn't hold much interest for me.

Talk to a good real estate attorney in your area, preferably a real estate attorney who has also handled at least some litigation.  

The FNMA condo guidelines are all here  https://www.fanniemae.com/singlefamily/project-eli...Condo projects and properties which don't meet Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac warrantability standards are known as non-warrantable.Non-warrantable condos are more challenging to borrow against.Typically, a condo is considered warrantable if:No single entity owns more than 10% of the units in a project, including the developerAt least 51% of the units are owner-occupiedFewer than 15% of the units are in arrears with their association duesThere is no litigation in which the homeowners association (HOA) is namedCommercial space accounts is 25 percent or less of the total building square footageWhat  you want is lender that will lend on NON warrantable condo project. 

I recently relocated to Massachusetts from Indiana for my job as a civil engineer.

The reason I am interested in real estate is because I am currently a civil engineering student and have confidence that if I learn this very interdisciplinary skill, then it would be extremely beneficial to my future career through vertical integration.