JimGo to the city’s assessor’s website and look up the property record.  

HELP :) can you split the lot?

She could hire a full service PM and net $1,840/mo.

I'd be happy to meet you over there and give you my opinion if the foundation work and remodeling is worth the expense.

You have given great thought to the issues real estate investors face when deciding the if, the when, and the how of getting "deeper" into real estate ownership.  

Every investor, even the experienced ones, has that “Did I mess up?”

Normally, when the listing broker realizes it is going to court, they will pay up before it gets that far. brokers are not going to pay the EM out of their pocket .. that is not going to happen .. as stated above EM deposited into an escrow can only be released upon mutual agreement signed by both buyer and seller with instructions where to send the money..

Assuming you currently rent right now, and you are buying the single SFR as a primary, the 3-unit should just be designated as investment and you should be able to use the rents to offset the payment (up to basically 'zero-ing' it out, on paper). 

I am on the board of CFRI, the local chapter for National REIA.

Whether it’s sprucing up a property with a few renovations or doing a full-scale flip, a good contractor can make all the difference.