I'm sure there are many examples where the seller did save money, but the overall statistics say otherwise.

Ideally we want to be in a duplex or house hack that we can rent out and hold until our child, (who will likely live semi independently), could move into in the future. 

Does anyone have general contracts that they have their general contractors/ independent contractors sign prior to starting a job?

Here are the latest NAR statistics that include your average Realtor. 

As the saying goes, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics.

I recently started working as an independent insurance agent and at the same time, i started that journey I became aware of bigger pockets and investing in RE.

February 2021 Housing statistics for the Austin MSA courtesy of ABoR.

You should be able to show an independent reason for the refinance (the literature calls this independent "economic substance") so that it looks like you would have pursued the refinance whether or not you sold the property or did an exchange. 

@Mark AmaralI highly recommend these 5 books to change your mindset and really get obsessed with Financial Independence!

Average sale price FSBO is statistically lower versus when listed by a GOOD realtor.