It was admittedly somewhat of a frustrating process and I got the impression that lenders purposefully make it challenging to remove and do the bare minimum to meet the federal guidelines for removal (very slow responses to PMI removal inquiries requiring multiple follow ups, incomplete or missing information on the process of removal or borrower rights, calculating LTV incorrectly, etc, etc).

Mike,It's real hard right now. 

Can it be left alone because it is 'normal/common'?

It's all about buying right, reno right and renting right.

The way I look at it, a parallel might be a renter has a right to play music on a radio inside the unit, but if he turns it up super loud and it bothers others- that should be stopped also.Good Luck!

The appraisal is often similar to the sale price of the property, so you might not increase the value right away.

Now I am at the stage of negotiating a repair credit on the upleg and then removing contingencies.I know this is an unusual request but is there anyone who is experienced with 1031 that I could hire to make sure I do this right any my friend doesn't misguide me and mess this up?

It seems you're on the right path.

Especially for those who are comfortable using technology to compare and review offerings to find the right property and manager.  

I have no experience with flips or BRRRs and don't want to use all my equity for low cash flow right now either.