My father is a contractor so we will be able to complete most of the work ourselves while keeping costs low and add equity.

if it's low and you sell, that rate is gone forever. 

This is pretty clean.Scenario 2:  Your partner has owned the house for 15 years and has been taking accelerated depreciation, so the book value of the house is very low. 

Can't find any low hanging fruit.

I will say that during that time, the HELOC interest rates were very low.  

Underpriced, underperforming, value add, 20 units, cash flow potential, low risk How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This seems unrealistically low for a 40 unit property.

Securing funding has been challenging, particularly because my business documents reflect low revenue from only one duplex, and I am currently between jobs.I have identified a reasonably priced piece of land and have saved a small portion of the funds from my duplex sale to invest in this venture.

These range low 500s to the mid 600s.  

Its proximity to campus, turnkey condition, and rental history make it particularly appealing to investors seeking high cash flow and low vacancy risks.