Simply own and live in the home for 24 months of the past 5 years from the date of sale, and receive a tax benefit of up to 250k of excludable capital gains from tax or 500k if married and filing jointly. 

After getting the DBA you will need to file for a Federal EIN.

However, my title search and the cases regarding the divorce and both foreclosures do not contain a quit claim filing at the county clerks office.

I know in Washington state a home owner can do their own work including electrical and plumbing, but as you pointed out has to live in the property for 1 year after completion.If you get licensed as a contractor (in WA state it takes some paperwork, filing fee and insurance/ bond, no test, no experience etc.. )  Then you do the work under you contractors license and no holding period needed. 

@Robert WilliamIf he doesn’t want to lose his home he needs to file bankruptcyIf he wants the most money he then he should just sell it.These are two very different things

Rarely does it make sense to file a claim where a monetary collection objective exists unless there's insurance proceeds potentially waiting for you at the end of the tunnel.

Start putting all your files in a easy to reach place.

I'm curious to try them out for at least one owner occupied client transaction to see how they work at transferring the loan, forms they file, required contract wording, etc. 

Keep in mind, the accountant who files your taxes may not be the same accountant who advises you on wealth building strategies & thats OK. 

What I mean is, it looks like as a married couple filing jointly we pay $0 in cap gains on first $94k, so could we use a strategy to pull out $94k in cap gains then 1031 the rest?