With this option there would be a reduction in your lifetime tax exemption but I think that tax is only due upon death (and if you fall under the limits there is no tax - Let's get our CPA friends to confirm this). 

An engineer/architect will need to decide if the foundation and first floor framing are sufficient to hold the weight from an additional floor above.A good general contractor will be able to take care of all of this for you from initial planning to full execution.

You also could try hiring an attorney to write a letter for you with the understanding that a well-written letter on law firm letterhead that cites laws you believe he broke may scare him more and carry more weight than an angry letter from you to try to deter a lawsuit.

I do know a few people who are heavy weights in the city.

Consider this property being a new build Duplex in San Antonio , ten year warranty so no real huge cost for repairs in the first ten years so to equal numbers out I am keeping cost zero for simplicity sake , I will have reserves saving up ultimately but trying to keep it close to what my realtor is using on his numbers.So I am trying to understand how my real estate agent comes up with vastly different returns then the calculator does...looking for advice on what I am missing,  He shows 14.65% return which he calls “ Return on initial investment year one” ...cash flow before tax= 4258 roughly 5.18% + appreciation at a conservative 1,5% appreciation $4572 yields 5.56% + Pricipal reduction on loan $3223 a 3.92% gain = totalling 14.65% Gain.Vastly different than this calculation I did on bigger pockets View report*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.Really appreciate the help!

I've been scouring the forums, but many of the posts are out of date and the responsive realtors have no recent posts (which seems a little odd) or are self recommending.While I'm not against self recommendation, it seems like an honest referral carries a little more weight. 

It is worth the weight in gold.

Paying down your mtg has nothing to do with doing a 1031.Paying down your balance to have more equity(by way of principal reduction) in order to borrow against that equity....is paying your money out, then borrowing it back. 

I was thinking that things would be down right now due to Covid, but have a feeling that there are a lot of opportunities to find properties for lower than normal (maybe due to price reductions or people just needing to get out of a property/home). 

The reality you are paying the general contractor to do a few things that are really important and they are not just dead weight.