I have 50 page inspection which reveals issues with plumbing, electric, HVAC, and roof.

The money spent on them has far greater return then trying to sort out which contractor's system will work for your situation.Taking the stuff out of the basement won't likely reveal the problem any better.

A quick Google search reveals that the Protecting Tenants From Foreclosure Act was extended in June 2018 with no sunset provision now.

I'm nearly positive that a really deep dive into the code would reveal at least a dozen 'safety' code issues besides this one, and all of them are reasonable to expect in an older home. 

Be productive by reading legal and business papers (they are full of leads),  review expired listings daily (make offers on all expired listings in your investing area) , call for sale by owners, make offers (use a skinny contract of sale, it is easy to read and understand - one page), run ads in local papers and on the internet, look at houses or commercial properties every day, understand and use an APOD (annual property operating data form), this form will reveal the accurate NOI.

If so, he could qualify for a loan that requires only a 3% downpayment.A 3-minute search revealed this:duplex in Greenway for $315KI won't speak to the desirability of the neighborhood and such, because I am not a Washingtonian. 

Inspection revealed many issues with plumbing, electrical as well as cosmetics.

Phil Pusjeotsvsky says he won't reveal to people who live near him the secret sauce. 

Renovating will most definitely reveal to you if you're doing it with the right people behind you.

@Kyle Marcotte I agree completely with your point of view on cap rates and would add that something similar could be said for all metrics: they’re useful when taken all together and in conjunction with some construction knowledge in order to give a snapshot of the overall quality of a property, but no single metric reveals a whole lot about a property by itself.