Readers are advised to seek professional advice

Start with your primary, rent out any spare bedrooms "house hack"Use that to practice upgrades, kitchen, bathroom, curb appeal... etcNow you have experience as a landlord and flipper, use that to buy a distressed propertyAdd 40% equity to the property through home makeover, refinance into a low cost mortgageNow you are cashflowing a healthy margin on a second property, use that to build equity over time, cashout later and buy your duplex/quad.If it's going to take you 10 years to save up a down payment for a small apartment building, yeah it makes more sense to start growing your portfolio with cheap SFR flips instead.Every market is different, every borrower is different, every property is different, it would be ill-advised to recommend anything without recognizing the individual's nuanced goals and objectives with their next acquisition.

Any advise on adding washer/dryers is a plus I know routing new drains can be tricky when trying not to get to invasive on a "cosmetic" job.

I’m making a few assumptions: 1) at least some buyers and sellers will accept much less agent handholding than commonly assumed, 2) the primary value that agents add is a) pricing guidance and b) advising clients on offers and counter-offers, and 3) there’s no truly compelling reason why North America has the highest average commissions in the rich world.

As for listing agents, they have two primary jobs: to advise on listing price and to help sellers review and counter buyer offers. 

Imagine me asking my attorney for $35K worth of free court appearance /advise or a real estate agent to forgo the 6% fees on selling of a home or demanding my property manager give me 20 years of free property management or going to Best Buy every week and coming out with a cart full of electronics good without paying, etc.

The other thing you want to consider is not just the monetary value of the easement but the opportunity cost associated with giving up those rights and if it encumber the value of the rest of the property!

If you are risk averse, real estate, (especially out of state) is not for you.Thanks for the list and advise. 

He needs to get advice from a lawyer who can advise him on whether to file a legal action or not. 

This is why I always advise rehabbers (per my personal experience) to have their own contract ready before work starts.