Would you recomend me buying out my lease, so I can start this process?

The best strategy I seem to have deployed so far was to contact all my current tenants and let them know I’d give them a cash referral fee of $250 for anyone they recommend to me that goes through the vetting process and successfully moves in.

I would love to hear how you all approach this process.

Quote from @James Boreno: One of my SFH caught on fire and I'm in the process of selling it to a contractor.

Always get multiple lenders working for you in the due diligence process!

Is it worth it to go through the proper process with the city and run the risk of a huge expense to make this a 3rd unit? 

You need to trust the process and fully immerse yourself in the realm of real estate investing. 

Don't be afraid of the process!

If you dont need the leases it can be nice because as soon as you get near completion on your rehabbing you can get your disclosures out, esigned, start your appraisal asap, and get the process moving quickly versus waiting around for tenants, lease ups, and all units to be rented.Best of Luck ~

The process to build everything out for clients takes longer then anticipated, but once done they're great sites with software to help manage marketing.