I’ve learned a lot from Bigger Pockets, first time posting:I’d love to get some feedback on where to go from my current position.Background: we own two houses on a single lot in a residential neighborhood.  

Doing so could be considered a form of illegal eviction or "self-help eviction," which is prohibited by law.

Welcome @Brett Jurgens There are lots of people here to help you with your journey 

What neighborhoods in Philly were your new construction projects in, or was this Cherry Hill NJ? 

My goal is learn from everyone, listen to your ideas, grow my portfolio and help you as I'm able.

I don't think your second idea is bad to ensure things are found and documented.I ended up qualifying for a SBA disaster loan that helped when FEMA would not do anything since my properties are under a business.  

I guess building in phases helps to mitigant some of that risk but at the same time while you have land being moved and foundations/roads being poured it seems to make sense to do quite a bit at the same time?!

As a vet I would love to help other vets out.

BP has various tools to help you analyze your deals (rentals, flips, wholesale, etc). : https://www.biggerpockets.com/investment-calculators7.

It will also be a great learning experience for you, which will only help you once you move into 5+ unit investing.