This will help you navigate your way to the finish line.Best of Luck!

You cannot 1031 the sale of your primary residence and you can't buy (at least immediately) a primary residence to finish a 1031 exchange.  

Finishing touches, renovation guru, heartland restoration 

A civil engineer can/will quote you to take it from start to finish, but it will not be cheap and no guarantee the engineer gets it approved.

In the begining, keep it simple and do the average finish that is in that neighberhood.Be careful with the Internet and the dishonest people use it to try to emotional sale you.  

You can add bathrooms, finish your basement, and create bedrooms with a few simple clicks. 

I have a similar issue and will be refinancing to a conventional loan after I finish my rehab.

We are not staining, just sand then topcoat with a clear finish.

Not sure if contacting the building department will cause issues that they may then find a way to not finish our job? 

An additional 64 cubic feet of interior space in a 432sf home doesn't sound like much but you will see when the project is finished just how valuable that space was and how much more open it enhanced the overall ambience .This home will be literally stripped to the bones and rebuilt from the frame up.