Onto the "what would you do" question...Personally I'd recommend finding an investor to bring deals to alongside a day job. 

The engineers' opinion initially should speak to the severity of the issue.I'd break down an engineering engagement into 2 parts:First would be an initial visit and rendering an opinion on the severity and possible approaches in design to remedy.2nd would be the actual design and cost opinion(s) to remedy.If you're pretty serious about the house, I think if you pay the $250-500 that I think you'd likely need to do the first, that would be a GREAT investment more than likely from what you're describing. 

(the owner says no realtor/wholesaler so I'm not sure if we still can engage with an agent)-HS

If you get a good deal and stay under budget you shouldnt have any problems cash flowing.Best of luck Elivs and congrats on the engagement!

The value that your wife is bringing to the table is actually easier to convert into a percentage of ownership in the deal because you should have a pro-forma and financial projections for the deal and the commissions that she will not charge actually have a dollar amount that is easily calculated based on the numbers you are projecting.Our business model is based on syndications for large multifamily properties where we bring equity from our investors as limited partners and we participate on the general partnership side of the deal alongside our operating partners (which in your case would be the builder).

We define a good tenant as someone who: Has stable employment in a market segment that is very likely to be stable or improve over time.Pays all of the rent on scheduleIs credit based, not cash based.Takes care of the propertyDoes not cause problems with neighborsDoes not engage in illegal activities while on the propertyStays for multiple yearsWe also consider factors like rehab cost, rehab risk, accessibility to jobs, long term maintenance costs, time-to-rent, crime, age, construction, location, and average length of tenant stay in that area in that price range.

I look forward to engaging more with this community.

Vinyl being replaced in a duplex unit:  Only part of the original floor was replaced with a totally different kind of vinyl laid along side of the original vinyl. 

In this scenario, you'll probably want to engage a law firm that specializes in both Real Estate Law and Bankruptcy Law.

I'm curious, do you use another metric to take into account the time value of your money alongside CoC return or have you found that CoC return has suited you well enough even without that factor?