I'm glad it's working out for you now, and I hope it continues into the future.

I am not planning to sell the property and intend to acquire additional rental properties in the future.

Most cities won't care if the owner lives in the basement, they only care if it's tenants.The egress window is also a good idea for increasing future sales price.

Was it hard to predict future issues? 

But, if this is a future rental, you might not refinance this!

If your lease doesn't explicitly address pest control responsibilities, it’s worth reviewing and considering adding a pest clause in the future to prevent disputes by adding every single pest.

In these arrangements, homeowners can receive a lump sum payment in exchange for a share of their home’s future appreciation.

They will likely also need to close any access points to satisfy city inspectors that the now capped chimney cannot be used to "vent" anything in the future.You will likely want a demo team that is much cheaper to do the actual demo and haul off, but you need either the mason or an engineer to stipulate how far down they can/should demo, while leaving enough room for the cap to be effective and maintain any structural rigidity into the future to not create more issues.Long story longer, I would call more licensed, insured contractors.  

If a potential/future tenant calls our telephone number, how are we able to compliantly respond with a text message?

I think this neighborhood would support that price on new construction at some point in the future.