(I’d look into the illegal inlaw legalization first, because you may be able to grandfather in some existing conditions, making life easier.) 

That's nothing like the courthouse here. 10 day upset period, and the lawyer does their best to notify and clear all the existing liens. 

Upon receiving our offer, the current owner sent out new lease agreements to the existing tenants to protect them from our being able to increase rent after purchase. 

For rentals, it doesn't seem to pay to upgrade kitchens and baths if the existing ones are functional.  

There is no such list in existence.

There seems to be little content out there about withdrawing early to invest differently in Real Estate, but that's exactly why BP exists, right?

Better opportunities exist.2.

@Megan DeppeWhen I did all the long-distance landlording back in 2004, etc... all these gadgets didn't exist--haha!

The lack of existing inventory, coupled with a lagging pace of new construction, has really caused serious appreciation in some of the transitional neighborhoods, as @Marc Rice mentioned above.This has weakened cashflow a tad, as entry point in several areas has risen dramatically.

An additional requirement that may also apply to those mentioned above is if the reason used for the 2nd fha loan is due to an increase in family size/existing property doesn't meet family needs is having a 75% LTV on the existing property with the fha loan or paid down to that amount, based on the existing loan amount and an appraisal