I am told that the business is running itself -- but again they only book weekends, have a full-staff and it's BYOB / external catering.

I've seen extensive foundation repairs done to cinder block walls that are bowing from external hydraulic pressure, and they've been repaired with extensive steel beams, tension systems and a drain cut in for around $12,000.4" is a fair bit of slope and to put in floor leveler...well, that's a lot of floor leveler.  

Well, that will depend on a few external factors like market, rates, capital access.I looked into the Boise market for my clients. 

We are at a point where we are scaling our operations first time and have external investors who are willing to put in $$.

Disadvantages is the possibility of corrupting the file so make sure you backup (external) your files regularly, and if you are planning to use remote bookkeeper, it's more difficult to provide access or transfer files. 

Ultimately, make decisions that align with your goals and research rather than solely relying on external opinions.

They must have an external entrance, a kitchen, no gas, and no 220V hookups.

See if you can isolate your 3 phase needs and use an external generator to service that need.Check out the salvage yards, reclaim centers, habitat for humanity centers, goodwill centers, etc.

I am aiming for cash flow and appreciation both , i am clear with investment objective i.e. financial freedom, in terms of timeline - i have just started scratching the surface of real estate investing i want to learn as quickly i can and gain information in order to get started for searching deals, budget and risk tolerance would like to put a number when some progress i have made personally in understanding of whole process, my diligence and external factor dependency, that's why looking for some basics to understand and path going forward 

With the Duplex now, my understanding is I file as though the rental half is a separate property and cut all expenses in half as a write off to my rental income (property tax, insurance, maintenance, improvements, etc...nothing was done specifically to either unit it was full home external work like garage and railing repairs, painting) as well as depreciating the half of the duplex that is a rental after calculating basis.It all seems very straightforward to me but I know I'd be naive not to have a second set of eyes with a professional given my lack of experience.