On the contrary, you can probably count on getting hit with one.I appreciate the response.  

He is almost certainly wrong, and on both counts. 

Personally, I count everything as cogs from the beginning.

Make sure you are counting and recording hours that matters.

In my mind, a multi-member LLC where my wife and I are 50/50 partners make sense, but I don't know if that will cause problems at tax time with counting losses from the LLC against my active income.

Yes, even counting the wonderful Cali appreciation.If you run the numbers at 50% down, @ 7%, PITI is $4500 per month!

I've seen new houses built in 7 days from the day the foundation was cured but there was tons of planning which isn't counted. 

Many people with the goal of growing their unit count brag about their hundreds of millions or billions of dollars in real estate.

I have done my own liens in the past, however if you don't know what you are doing it can easily get messed up and possibly not count as a lien.

If the assessor doesn't count the sqft then that fact will come out during the escrow process and could sink the deal.