Some of the beams have this sawdust looking substance on them. 

Sprinkling old buildings and providing for two separate drainage systems in a building build with one is also a costly challenge as is storm water control.

Your time here will be well spent.Thanks for sharing your info which is sprinkled with challenges, but, not insurmountable.My suggestion would be for you to start with bird dogging  and/or wholesaling.

I am a former USAF guy (with some amrny national guard sprinkled in as well) and we do buy and hold up in South bend but have also bought houses an hour south and have looked as far south as Peru so have a small bit of experience close to your duplex. 

There are over 650 permanent units with a sprinkling of 50 or so RV spaces for travelers.

My plans are to focus on wholesales in the beginning, move on to rehabs, and eventually move onto Tax sales and notes, which is where most of my knowledge lies, with the occasional buy and hold sprinkled in.

But it does sprinkle non stop for months at a time... again why I prefer northern CA.. nothing like it in my mind.

If people want to take private loans at ridiculous interest rates then both sides bear the relative risk.Also it serves no purpose to talk in amorphous terms of whats unconscionable, fair, equitable, nice, or covered with sprinkles and rainbows.  

There are acres and acres of empty lots sprinkled with a house here and there.

Though, as the article says, there are "pockets of poverty" sprinkled in, and I don't see this "innovation district" changing the fundamental market dynamics.