It is a top/bottom style duplex with a flat roof and a basement so there should be no issues around ducting. each floor is around 1,100 sq ft  Any idea how much I should be looking to get this quoted for?  

The worst case scenario for me would be to just purchase rentals turnkey style. 

For garden style apartments, average OpEx was $5,661 per unit per year.

It depends on the age, construction, roof style, etc.

Something as simple as Tumeric (a root spice) or also called Curcumin sells for pennies, is readily available, is used in curries and other dishes and cures some of the medial problems people have.

The plan (his plan) was to take the upstairs of a large, beautiful, historic building and convert it to 4 dorm style units.  

Finish your education, get established in a career with a couple of years of employment and use that time to live the most frugal life style possible to save up the cash needed for the necessary DP and reserves.

@Mark AndersonIt's a two way conversation.So, you should tell them what you are looking to do and the style of investing you want to work with. 

I have 15 years experience as a Project Manager building Multi- Family projects anywhere from 9 unit town homes, 200 mid rise projects, to 400 unit Garden Style developments on previously undeveloped land.

However, due to Prop 10 and peak purchase prices, I am considering to diversify to other areas and style of investments.