When I was applying for the building permit I had to get an elevation certificate and the house is 0.74 feet below the BFE. 

The way you leverage assets is about being able to borrow as much money as your risk profile will permit you and then use it to make as much money as you can.Given the vast number of alternative ways to make money in RE the key becomes how much can I borrow and can I earn more than the cost of the money.

Lastly, yes unlike IRAs, participant loans are permitted in a solo 401k plan.

It depends on whether title company requires a formal probate, whereby an administrator or personal representative must be appointed by court or if a summary probate is sufficient whereby a single court appearance distributes real estate and other property to legal heirs.It's also possible that FL has an Affidavit statutes that permits bypassing court.

if it's a repair replace your GC can pull the permit 

My dad doesn't want to take it to court because the apartment doesn't have a permit, so it's illegal.

I have a 6,000 sq ft office/retail building in need of rehab and am looking to have drawings done for permits and GC bids.

Regardless, whoever rebuilds here will need to tear down the damaged structure, get an engineer to stamp new drawings, permit and rebuild a big portion of whats there. 

Were permits and inspections done on the additional space?

I know of about 10 projects(oracle campus and multiple Class A multifamily & mixed use developments) in that area which are in the permitting stage.