Jonathan Bock, CPA 

My current CPA hasn't been much help so I will be finding a new one.The property was purchased and in 2016 and was my primary residence with my then wife. 

U want your parents to talk to their CPA FIRST.. if they go the development route they are now ( depending on the amount of units) creating inventory.. which will be taxed at ordinary income rates ( very HIGH)if they just sell they can 1031  and move on to something else.. many times when you run the math consider the risks of a partnership.. the sale of the land is far better than thinking your going to make some profit.. 

I've always seen it from my CPA as one bill, i.e. this year you owe $3000 over your 8 property portfolio.Am I interpreting or thinking about this wrong?

I am not aware of a business license in Texas. 7) Consult a CPA.

A CPA with more experienced, but that's where it really ends.   

Make sure you have the following:Great investor-friendly agents to be your boots on the groundMultiple contractors to run bids throughMultiple lenders and hard money lenders to quote youA great real-estate specialized CPA (and bookkeeper once you start to scale up)

Hard to say.I suggest talking to your CPA about both choices as well as a loss on a "flip" (which this would be if you were to simply sell it at a loss) is going to be treated differently than putting a lot of capital into something you hold as a rental.

Something to consult a CPA about is the tax write offs.

If you itemize your taxes, this may be used as a write off (I am not a tax professional, so please consult with your tax preparer/cpa etc etc).