The rest of the Parish most can be built to your preference like on a slab, on top of elevated pilings, cement block piers, etc.

Depending on elevation variances in the slab, breaks don't occur as often as people think.

The ground floor is not elevated so the basement will be completely underground with window wells and an outdoor stairway for egress. 

Here are the numbers and Data:1918 Duplex6 Bed/2 Baths2,281 sq.ftBanks Asking Price: $99,000My Offering Price: $75,000Estimated Rehab: $50,000Estimated Closing Cost: $3,000ARV: $220,000 (Conservative Estimate by multiple local agents)Estimated Rent (Conservative): $3,000; (Realistically $3200-3700)Verified Property Tax: $7,330/ann; $610/mthVerified Vacant Policy Insurance: $219/mthVerified Occupied Policy Insurance: $260/mthFlood Insurance: +$250/mth (Needs Elevation Cert: $350)NJ Landlord Fee: <$25/mth20% Down @ 5% Interest: $715/mthCAP-X: 5%Repairs and Mx: 5%Vacancy: 5%Property Management: 8%Okay, now the talking part.

Since you've already purchased this property, unless you can sell quickly and get most of your investment back out, your next step before considering any future purchase should be taking whatever steps you can to alleviate the flood zone problem -- are there grants for elevating the home, would flood vents help, possibly apply for letter of map amendment if the home is higher than the surrounding area, find out if the city is planning to buy it up and at what percentage of value. 

I can see now how rural that is and why Jerry's projects being spread out there is a lot to think of.. in such small locations.. there are not a ton of options.. but it sure looks like a nice centrally located area for the outdoors .I have flown over it at low elevation on my way to Driggs Idaho and the airport there at Grand Tetons..

Use a plumber with a camera and locator (this will even give you the invert elevation, depth). 

A house being in the flood zone is based on elevation and not wheather the house actually gets flood water in it.

I am not sure in VA but sometimes if you can obtain an elevation certification for the property, that can potentially bring down the cost of the flood policy.  

There's a lot of shiny objects out there now that are luring people to ditch their 9-5 to become their own boss and find a lifestyle design model that they enjoy more than the one they're stuck in.Hey Odie, I’m not a lifestyle speaker so I can’t speak to that area.I’m someone that got fired from his corporate job in 2004 and have been self-employed ever since.I’ve had countless businesses that have failed 1) Safe and Sound pet care biz 2) Mobile Home King 3) Why Go Solo (tech company…what was I thinking) 4) Toolkit for Success 5) Note partnership (still love the lady I did this with) 6) Wallpix.I learned to take large amounts of stress and plow through the valley (as the bible touches on).3 businesses worked for me: Government Contracting, Landlording, and Note Investing…ALL THREE STILL PAY MORE MONTHLY.I attribute much of the success to the fact that I learned to be a business owner whereby I treated every endeavor like my next meal depended on it.Thinking about it now, I don’t recommend my course for anyone as there was a lot of pressure, soul searching, and lessons learned.On your topic, I think people should consider being more valuable to their employer to elevate their standing at work while building a side business.For me its about maximizing the number of income streams versus replacing one.The key to success (in my little mind) is to focus on building a business out of any venture you take on.I see a lot of failure because folks dabble versus assemble a business plan that they work daily.