I presume your rule of thumb provides mostly a cosmetic rehab with a certain level of finishes.

I actually just finished reading the first book you recommended, and I can attest it is a fantastic read.

The faster I finish the project, the sooner I can sell the property or, if I plan to keep it, the sooner I can get tenants in there.Now, if I'm adding square footage (i.e. a room, a bathroom, etc.) or if I'm adding something like a pool, then yes,  I will get a permit BECAUSE I want the additions to be added to the property profile. 

Just got a phone call from a local fencing contractor telling me that he just finished installing a fence at one of my rentals. 

I find their way of working very useful, as I can assign specific tasks to each cleaner and they must complete them in order to finish their job.

If my 1031 gets cancelled due to me not being able to attain financing then there must be damages to me financially?

You can run your own comps on Zillow/redin  make sure you understand your local market and how much finishes, bed bath count effect prices, don’t lie to yourself about arv or project it to go up that’s how you end up in trouble.if you can get all those variables down, while things can still happen/go wrong you should have a good ball park of the potential profit margin, always room for error in your net profit, markets can shift, you can get hit with unexpected expenses etc. 

We just finished a flip that is listed on the MLS.  

Basement was "finished" in that it had walls and flooring, so we completely redid and made it an actual basement.

We're doing the finishes our selves to keep costs low and we'll operate it as a short-term or mid-term rental to boost gross rents.