It's a big undertaking for someone without experience, and will require an experienced builder for you to work with.

It would be a big undertaking for your first project, but the payoff would be huge and you sound like a smart enough fella to handle it. 

My wife has 15yr of experience in graphic arts.

If you're already easily comfortable walking away from ~$4k, an extra $700 shouldn't be enough to endure the stress you'll undertake if you take on this dog of a project.

I currently work as a video editor/web/graphic designer, which I plan to continue into the future, but I'm also working nights trying to get licensed as an agent and hope to start investing as soon as I feel I have the knowledge to do so.

If you focus on positioning yourself in those three arenas, you'll have more outstanding projects than you can possibly undertake.

With the feeling of hopelessness lingering in the back of their mind through every activity they were undertaking.

@Lonniel Ingram,Unless you hold title to the property you're undertaking a VERY risky project.

The lot has plenty of space in concept to put a side by side duplex on similar to the one that is already there, but this is a new undertaking for us.  

In truth, feeding a property is not the greatest situation in the world and if your appreciation projections are off (which is likely 5 years into the future) you might find yourself as a desperate seller in a few years.Feeding a property  (also referred to as "negative gearing") can make sense if:- You have sufficient cash flow from other sources like a job where a large repair bill won't sink you- You are converting a home into a rental in which you put little down for a FHA or VA loan (as examples)- You are undertaking an expedited paydown of the mortgage to enjoying a better cash flow downstream (perhaps aligned with a retirement age)David