Between carrying costs, having to potentially raise equity and/or utilizing debt during the pre-development period  had I settled plus associated time, I  probably would have spent a similar amount of money.

Look at affordable areas like Mesquite, Grand Prairie, or Cedar Hill and go for an FHA (3.5%) You need to know where exactly you will be working first.Closing costs can run $5K-$10K, so negotiating seller concessionsor using first-time homebuyer programscan help.

I've already picked up some great tips, like focusing on operating costs, using comps for ARV, and the unicorn-like nature of good contractors.

Building a 4,000-square-foot, three-story duplex with a 1,000-square-foot ADU could cost about $1.83 million, including construction and permits (excluding land).

They are even working on getting me the evicted tenant's security deposit, the missing JANUARY rent since the place is still empty, and covering the cost of my own manager re-listing the property.

Some even offer preferred interest rates as low as 5.75% at no cost to you. 

Yep, off water, but with nearby water access and view seems to be the same ROI considering the cost of the property. 

A friend and I created one recently:https://drive.google.com/file/...It was meant to compare costs between different lenders, but you can use it to just see costs from one lender as well.

I’m just really surprised that the tenant is not taking the option to break the lease break with a $ number offered (1 month rent plus reasonable amount for parts of house he wasn’t able to use) that is within a couple thousand dollars of what he wanted anyway.  

The family viewed the house, loved it, and requested that I install satellite TV and add it to the costs, which I did.