(All though, I built an additional $8,000. into the budget for rehab "luxuries" and/or emergencies.... like if I have to replace the furnace, the water heater or the A/C evaporator after the water gets pumped out of the basement).

Literally, the builder build "luxury" garages for people to store their toys (Think of townhouses, but 20x40 garages instead). 

So, in my 5 bedroom/3 bathroom, we have 5 guys including me, paying $1850.00/month in rent.However, if you don’t have that luxury, you can always use services like FaceBook/Craigslist/Roomiematcher/Roommates/etc.Another great option is to Airbnb your extra rooms.

The owner who's sued tried to get the suit against himself dismissed but was denied.The one way for me to avoid personal liability is hire a PM with his own E&O insurance.

Your hard work and prior planning affords you the luxury of really identifying what you want, growing your portfolio to live off the passive income and to leave a legacy.

I’m struggling to find affordable deals but admittedly, understanding deal-finding is not my strong suit right now. 

Once you start adjusting your process to suit every seller, you end up losing money on terms you didn't want.

Ultimately - your accountant is best suited to answering this question.Your gain is sales price less adjusted basis where adjusted basis is purchase price + improvements - depreciation.You may have a gain on the sale, you may have a loss on the sale - only your accountant knows.If you have a gain(depends on how much) and you plan to continue being in real estate, you may want to consider doing a 1031 exchange.

We also owned our home free/clear and decided to go with a HELOC as it has more versatility and is well suited for how we utilize it. ie, a home equity loan gives you x amount of money and then you have to do something with it or stick it in the bank.

So maybe look for one that isn't re-done yet that you can get for cheap and remodel slowly over a couple years to better suit what you'd want it to be as a rental.