2) What if I'm only a 1% ownership?

Find out out property and belongings transfer in that case. 

I further read tips on re-fi under a conventional loan but transfer the property under the LLC.

Therefore, couldn't I purchase this year's liens at par value and then re-sell them at a 5% premium (assuming they meet the general criteria of the institutional buyers and I pay for all transfer fees)?

I agree with Scott to make sure it states this is a non-refundable deposit and once they move in, it will be transferred to their security deposit (ie the deposit is the full amount of the security deposit). 

And is it possible to clear willingly transfer interest to the other party to refinance under one person's name or LLC? 

The next major problem with LLC's for real estate is; when a property is owned by you and does not belong to an LLC, then you qualify to transfer or gift properties to relatives and avoid paying capital gains taxes at the time of the transfer.

Or go on line.You can also use a GIS tax map, and look up the ownership and zoning for the property.Still talk with the Zoning department. 

If this property was purchased in your personal name (and this may be the case as you lived there prior to getting married it sounds like maybe) you can either set up an LLC and transfer the title to the LLC or you should probably be able to obtain an umbrella insurance policy that would cover in case of lawsuit. 

In November of 2019 we realized that the new ownership information had not been registered with the City.