Still, it’s a 30 second phone call so there’s really no reason not to make it.

I have my phone on me all the time and will get alerts with any messages sent to me.

One Association has side by side units with one common wall.  

This is also another common question on BP.

IF you planned on staying for 2+ years it's common sense to make it a primary under those conditions.

By the end of that day I had been on the phone with almost 30 lending institutions, some small-town local and others a little bigger. 

The delays you mention seem excessive, that said, if the delays are due to the local utility company (some are common but not that long) then you don’t have a lot of options but I am feeling like the contractor here has caused at least some of the delays.

If you have a closet that's all you need and you should definitely close the wall off so it could actually be used as a bedroom.  10'x10' is very common bedroom size in Chicago, although its not ideal it can easily fit a full soze bed with extra room.  

Does this typically mean I need to buy an extinguisher for each tenant to have in their unit or just in common spaces (stairwell, basement storage, etc)?

For your first flip, you have made a common mistake I too have made in my career.