and what are things you do to mitigate costs?

My understanding is that flattening a parcel with varying elevations is not all that costly IF (and this is a BIG IF) you can do so without dump trucks...the import and export of material is the greatest cost so if you can simply move the high ground dirt to the low ground and create a happy medium, you can offset a good bit of the costs....And if you do need to export material bc you have too much, a parcel that size might allow you to sell off the material to mitigate your costs...I'd recommend talking with some experienced excavators who are open to the idea of helping you flatten your parcel in exchange for money and the right to "sell" your excess material.... just some ideas to get the ball rolling! 

At this point would you recommend putting the rentals into an LLC to mitigate risk?

Market knowledge is the greatest mitigator of risk that exists, which is why Im a proponent of investing locally. 

Japan is #1 economic study of Stagflation, how it comes to bear, how it operates, mitigation actions that fail, and how one can, eventually, exit a Stagflation Economy. 

(I paid out of pocket, as insurance refused to cover, to a very reputable contractor, after water mitigation was done). . 

Some economic experts warn that a debt default could cause another economic recession which includes millions of job losses that had been recovered since the COVID-19 outbreak last year.

Assumable loan.Option 3: bank financing with 25% down, 20 year amort, balloon in year 5 (if not 10), full recourse with interest rate at around 3.25% - the bank can finance the existing facility and expansion.I plan to buy additional properties so non recourse is ideal from a risk mitigation perspective but I am not sure how to work around financing the expansion.How much construction cost should I budget per sf? 

I am hoping any effect on my credit can recover within my rehab-to-refi timeframe— this is my first property so I anticipate the additional credit account will mitigate at least some of the damage from the high credit utilization rate. 

(My offer was made prior to the major Corona Outbreak in the US)It's a triplex in Dunellen, NJ (B- Neighborhood) I would be house hacking and there's is a massive fully paved lot in rear of the home that has a heated garage with a gated entrance (Between 1-2 car garage) which tenants don't have access to and is not rented since the owner kept it for his son who is a mechanic.The house needs a good amount of repairs such as stucco siding repairs, lot re pavement, new furnaces, and cosmetic updates.