Anyway I have about $135k available on my heloc. sale price on the duplex is $279,000, so 20% is about $56k. the house is perfectly livable as-is, but at $60/sqft and properties on the block selling for $140/sqft i think there is room for some forced appreciation. the building is currently a three-floor duplex townhouse, one unit is the ground floor and unit two is the top two floors. all floors are basically the same floor plan. the second floor has a kitchen/laundry stacked above the first floor kitchen/laundry. on the third floor, the room is in the same place and empty, but utilities (water gas electric) are already run and in place for adding a third kitchen/laundry, so conversion to triplex would be simple as installing cabinets and appliances and building an exterior staircase up to the second floor rear deck. the three 2bed/1bath units would rent for $1000-$1200 a month each, conservatively. we would have to find somewhere else to live for that to happen, but that is our 1-3 year goal anyway. would it be better to make the bank loan smaller with a bigger down payment from the HELOC?

There was one full gut, and the rest were heavy cosmetic (cabinets, floors, paint, fixtures etc). 

Since cabinets, flooring, electrical, plumbing, etc. have to be upgraded anyways, is there a financial payoff for turning the units into 1 bedrooms - e.g. moving the kitchen wall into a bedroom, creating a design that looks and functions better?

I need to put down the toilet, bathroom vanity and kitchen base cabinets. 

Squeaky or noisy door and cabinet hinges6.

It was a bear to sand and repaint with black dust when sanding the cabinets and handrails.

There were less-than-neutral paint colors throughout the home, awkward kitchen cabinets, and neglected yard care to name a few things.

The property has a few broken windows with boards up over them, an interior door off the hinges, rot on the bottom of the cabinet under the kitchen sink from a leak some time ago, water seeping up from the concrete in a back room making the carpet damp if it rains a lot.

This is challenging but doable.Having said this, globally-speaking, what I know is how to rent a nice unit, with new cabinets, granite countertops, and stainless appliances.

I sent my final $520,000 offer in at 1:50 pm today (1/15/2020) and then left my office to go install cabinet handles at my flip in the next town over.