I'd ask for referrals, and reach out to some local folks and see what is working and not.Best of luck!

Sometimes cities will allow this, but it depends on local zoning rules.If neither option works, it might be worth consulting a real estate attorney to explore your options.

You might consider: Consulting a Real Estate Attorney – Your emails may possibly prove misrepresentation.Requesting Public Records – A FOIA request might reveal why the city denied you but later approved the duplex.Escalating to City Officials – Bringing this to local officials could expose inconsistencies.Exploring Tax Write-Offs – A CPA might help offset your financial loss, if it is possible.I’d definitely seek legal advice.

Many months of costly vacancy, local market rent & resale deteriation, special assessments, property taxes and maintanance fees suggest a quick sale would have been the wise thing to do 2 years ago.

I'm a local realtor and investor, so I’d love to help you find the right property and navigate the market.

Have you gone to any local meetups? 

The amount of ideologically inspired nonsense online is mind-boggling. 

We bought a property that we feel is assessed by the our local government too high.

But perhaps you would be better served helping a local experienced investor find deals and ask them to show you exactly how they analyze deals, what's good vs bad, how do they finance (debt vs equity) etc etc and understand their business model that has a proven track record by providing value to them.

Zero in 2024 in Huntsville - which is precisely why we bought zero LTRs in 2024 locally (bought one out of state, and bought a local flip property and one small local commercial property - slowest year since I started REI in 2017).