So as a newer person in an area if you want a lot of bids before you close you'll normally end up with the more expensive guys or the ones that don't have work at the moment (usually for a reason).

The house has been on the market for many months..."

Any recommendations on lawyers to talk to that can assist in advising on an LLC fund (if needed) and how? 

I recently started a refi on one to get cash on another deal.

After the demo, there really is not much you can do to save outside of thinking outside the box on fixing whatever that might be that has come up. 

The last one on this offering was in 1/19/22.Thus this begs the question, should they have been raising money in 2023 without a qualified offering?

Those that cannot weather the storm get wiped out.Having cashflow positive properties provides a margin of safety you just do not have with negative cashflow.Why are you focused on buying in your backyard? 

I would like to build a duplex on it for long term rental income.

Towards the end of last year, one of my buddies contacted me and told me his accountant told him that he needed to buy some real estate to lower his tax bill.

One thing I would definitely recommend is getting the students' parents to co-sign on the lease.