Should I replace carpet with hardwoods so that they are continuous throughout house? 

I'm no expert, but I know several people who have had loans called due on sub to deals because of the way they structured their insuance policy.

If you are going to be active, and have high conviction in a project with a clearly defined entry/exit strategy then using a HELOC is one of the better sources of capital.But, I continue to have my stance that, on average, folks who use a HELOC to fund the down payment for long-term investments will eventually find themselves in a situation where their portfolios drain their personal financial situations, rather than fueling them. 

Regarding your comment that "the court continuously grants more time," I had a similar issue just prior to the Covid lock down.

Did you ever consider using a property tax appeal expert?

If you start communicating before things get all legal, then that shows everyone in the neighborhood that you are willing to work within the regs and with the neighbors in order to fix issues.If you aren't the problem, things are smooth with your STR, then you want to convince them that they should let things continue and penalize the problem properties and not yours.My 2 cents as per usual.

I guess it depends on if you think home prices will continue to go up over the next two years or not.  

Become an expert!

There will be much more government spending and jobs created in Mcallen to secure the border, leading to continued population growth.

Clusters of dark blue areas (such as Queen Creek, Buckeye-Goodyear, area between Surprise and Anthem) may indicate the path of progress happened (or is still happening in these areas), and we might be able to assume the path of progress could continue in these directions.Do you find this kind of information helpful at all?