I had the city of Bing code inspector come out and they let me know that the property I was interested in had illegal improvements and that's why I wasn't going to be able to get a certification. 

Hey @Wesley Mitchell ,Sounds like you're indirectly pursuing the  BRRRR method; acquire a property, improve it, then refinance and get your money back (in this case it'd be 75% of the ARV after improvements) This would help you keep the house as well as attaining funds for your next investment.https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/...

the problem with a lease of land is if you decide not to buy you lose the work and expense you might have made for improvements. 

A vacant multifamily is hard to finance, you may have to access hard money or raise capital from investors.  

Just received an email from them notifying me that they are going to shut of the service in 10 days and they might need me to "provide the access to the property, if my tenants wouldn't cooperate."

I have access to on and off market properties.

Will me taking down my pine tree and replacing it with the Japanese maple be an over improvement?

A LLC seems like the logical venue to achieve an offset to this year's taxes via MACRS along with adding to the basis with this year's improvements to the home, property taxes, etc. and luckily we already have one in good standing.  

It is interesting to see how you refocused your business on what was making you the most money, and just improved that niche.

Oakland County has a nice online database you can access at Oakgov.com.