Maybe I’m not understanding things correctly, but wouldn’t the risk of a major fire coming through again be lower since much of the old kindling has now been burned?

And where can I find the correct contract/forms needed, is this something the attorney will supply, or something I can provide and they can look over and use?

If you want to sell it as separate townhomes in the future, you might want to make sure the unit separations are correct fire rated and maybe do some of this work with the pop top. 

Also, I would definitely get multiple bids as the rehab budgets on projects like this tend to have a much wider range then sfh rehabs in my experience.

If you have a nice home in a desirable location that would likely go to bid war, it might be worth listing with an agent.

In order for my strategy to work though, I need to be able to secure the correct first deal: Value add 5-Unit under $500kThe goal would be to force appreciation, elevate cap rate, and flip the building to another investor.

I hope I am explaining this correctly. 

This is a good question and as others have indicated, there is no correct, universal answer. 

And you’re correct, the exemptions apply to owner occupants of the property, not to investors.

I'm sure some of the 1031 facilitators on here will correct me if I'm wrong and amplify what I say if I'm right.I'm pretty sure that the title of the acquired property will have to be in EXACTLY the same name as the title on the sold property.