Looking for some best practices/ advice on how to best calculate replacement costs when analyzing MFRs.

The best way starting ANYTHING real estate investing is getting a website and learning how to do your own SEO.

I often have a difficult time with hyper-inspirational stories and posts, as they are usually heavy on sentiment and lack practical guidance, but I think you've struck the appropriate balance here. 

Even after investing significant man hours into identifying and categorizing nearly all the sources of private funding for real estate investments, I can say for sure that choosing the right lender for any particular deal takes practice. 

Fortunately I have got to the point where the cash flow is really starting to take off making contracting more practical.

Is this not standard practice?

The BRRR strategy which you will hear a lot about on here sounds good and all and a lot of people practice it but personally for me I would rather work on paying off properties than occurring more debt.

@Scott Trench I'm trying to practice what you preach, but the man is keeping me down!

Is it just a general good practice or is there legal or regulatory ramifications?

Ask my wife about this, I KNOW how to spin a tale. 30 years in sales (and I made good money at it) some theatre training and a lot of practice telling bar stories.