I have never pulled a permit for a water heater swap, know no one that has ever pulled a permit for a water heater swap, ever seen or heard about one getting red tagged for no permit, and have never had a plumber recommend getting a permit.

I think the proper way is to "de-wire" the electric boxes, hang the drywall, pull the wires through the holes, reattach wires into the electric boxes and then push the rewired boxes into the hole from the outside in.

Cancel after you pull, unless you like the tools it offers. 

The way we have done it is to borrow from my 401K, when I pay mine back borrow from hers and repeat this cycle so we always have one we can pull from. 3) This option will be controversial but I have taken out private money loans with family and friends. 

One has no mortgage, their other has a HELOC for around $20k remaining and is coming to its 10year term that was established before placing with LLC.My predicament is how/best way to pull equity out of either property for a down payment for the 3 family that is valued around $450k.

Instead, you could explore pulling equity out through a home equity line of credit (HELOC) or a cash-out refinance.

I’m exploring ways to automate my deal analysis process and was wondering:1.Is there a way to programmatically pull MLS data?

Unless you have an immediate need for the cash I'd wait until I could pull out the extra $40k. 

My credit was pulled twice (currently sitting at a 700+ according to Experian) but I don't know if this would affect my score or anything when it come to actually choosing a property and locking in a rate.

It is often much lower than rent O meter because rent O meter is pulling data from the advertised price, not the rented price.