I got a very good price on the building (about $25k per door), but it was a ton of work as in addition to tenant issues, there was TONS of physical distress (foundation repairs, sewer line and water line repairs, electrical upgrades, new roof, and apartment renovations needed for all units). 

First thing to consider is what was the original foundation design and can it hold a second story to a home.

That's how I started and was a phenomenal foundation for the rest of my portfolio.

The only concern we run into is occasional foundation issues near the river, towards the south east side of town.

EM deposits of 10 to 30k go to title with instructions to release them to me once Foundation is in  that sort of thing.. but the key here is mutually agreed.

To clarify, I had initially put the property under contract but had to back out of the deal due to negative inspection results, specifically related to foundation issues.

Because the sump wasn't running and there was a foundation issue we knew about and had figured in. 3 days later the water was up to 8 inches.

A roof, HVAC, and foundation on a $80k house cost the same as a roof on a 250k house (assuming a similar size but better location) with a similar PITI to rent spread.

It explains the team that you should develop to have a strong foundation under you while investing remotely.https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/core-four-real-estate-team

More importantly, I can start off 2025 with a realistic foundation.