The question underneath all this is that I'm looking at a triplex with 2/1 units and trying to figure out what rent would be for section 8 tenants in this area.Hope that all makes sense and appreciate ya'll in advance!

There was a wall dividing the kitchen and living room it ran underneath and on top of a joist the width of the house with an opening to the kitchen.

In scenario 1 if sunk piers would always have been required based on soil type etc, then maybe again there is no negative financial component for construction.

If I have to use an acrylic or a fiberglass tub, it's usually customer supplied. best advice with those is to bed them with structolite underneath or they will crack eventually.In my experience chips usually aren't a manufacturer's defect but are the fault of negligent installers or people who drop tools on them. 

@Keith Nugent  Yes, I've felt fortunate to live in Hood River ever since arrival, though every winter I step off the plane into Florida soil, pale and weak, I do question why to not live there. 

Since your intention is to sell it soon, I would remove the bush altogether and consider either a low, trimmed hedge all along the foundation or large window boxes underneath the sets of windows on either side. 

If it were just holding back some yard, with no structures relying on that soil, I'd rip it down myself with a jack hammer and sledge hammer.  

You can get a tank company to test the ground soil all around the tank to get an idea if there is leaking, but that is not 100 percent accurate.

.- Soil report from a geotechnical engineer.

You could see the roof boards in the holes underneath the unit.