If you know the ropes there and what the village expects, the actual permit and inspections are generally pretty straight forward. 

I can't seem to find straight answers anywhere (totally could be looking in the wrong spots - I'm new to this!) 

I've actually reached out to a few insurance folks and I can't really get a straight answer.1.

I have equally found that there is something magical about IN-PERSON MEETUPS...when I left my traditional W2 for a PropTech startup I led our grass-roots business development by going to every possible Chicago Meetup for about 2 YEARS STRAIGHT!

More specifically, if I MOVE the stairs (we are talking about a 9-12 step straight up stair case), do I need to reinforce any walls?

I'm not talking about flat-rate or justifiable scenarios...just straight up lying to the client. 

@Ali Ahmed I am not affiliated with @Mark Ainley but you may be able to find the list he referenced here on the Straight Up Chicago Investor's Podcast website.

You pay actual hours worked with no taxes/unemployment/insurance expenses, just straight time.

I own over 200 units and have separate bank accounts for each LLC to keep things smooth and straight forward.

Also, I haven't gotten a straight answer on this, but I think depending on the lender, the heloc payments may be counted in different ways towards your DTI.