I am new here, I am a plumber from central Florida who wants to get into this business.

here are for real lenders in the space.lendinghome   they do charge 200 bucksLima one   no chargeVisio  no chargeLendingone  No chargepatch of land  no charge.cant say all but most of the on line guys advertising then hitting you with 500 dollar up front fees are scammers out to steal your 500.. go with a reputable company..

I've already got the plans drawn up, started framing up the walls, and looking for a good plumber and electrician. 

You need to have financing lined up before you put a property under contract.You should also work with a local reputable hard money lender, so you know the terms and whether they will lend on the property up front.

Furthermore, do that kind of thing and you're quickly going to get a reputation as someone to avoid doing business with.I think the only course is to try and beat the other offer.

The plumber said we might as well replace the very old galvanized pipes running to the duplex or we would continue to have problems.

Waiting on the plumber and electrician.  

Plumber had the line replaced and water back on in under two hours.

Does anyone have experience with geotechnical  engineers and REPUTABLE foundation builders who operate in Granville and Durham counties?

For example, if you had a small leak tenant will not call a plumber to avoid the $75 fee.