Also, mere arrest can no longer be considered in a background check.While disparate impact was important in the low income housing tax credits case that gained Supreme Court recognition for the concept, it was not a Fair Housing or a zoning context.  

I think you are going to end up running into an income recognition because you're receiving 50% ownership in a duplex that you weren't owner of before.

We originally had the idea to do cosmetic repairs throughout the home over time then sell it but would like to speed the process up by refinancing the home to fund our next project.

The Home Must Be Used as the Taxpayer’s Principal Residence for a Total of at Least Two Years During the Five-Year Period Leading Up to the SaleIn addition to the ownership requirement, to shelter gain from the sale of a home from taxable recognition, the home must also be used as the taxpayer’s principal residence for an aggregate of two years during the five-year period leading up to the sale of the home.

At this rate it would take me 5 years to be able to expand to a second MFH.What can I do to speed up that time to lets say a year or two?

At that point in time assets owned by the LLC can be distributed to the members and your acct should be able to do so in a way that does not trigger a gain recognition.  

Or would proceed slower and wait until you've got the initial borrowing speed bumps out of the way?

This is a powerful tactic that helps to significantly accelerate the speed at which one can grow a portfolio.In 2012 I purchased my first MF investment property in the Lower Greenville neighborhood of Dallas, TX.  

Thank you in advance for bring me up to speed here.....

But for the average investor who is just getting started out and has a full-time job on top of their investing...go with the slow role....that snowball picks up speed and weight much faster than you'd realize.