With that being said, any help or advice would greatly be appreciated, especially with the financial aspect of the business, as that is my weak spot.

If you tell the bank that you're getting money from your parents to help with the downpayment, you're telling the bank that you are a weak borrower.

Duplexes, triplexes are not for the weak at heart..

Sometimes Realtors attempt to develop a "standard" in a particular area for the above and will attempt to communicate (convince) parties to a transaction to offer/accept the "standard".IMO, the negotiated amounts of these items, as well as if and when the EMD " goes hard" will depend on the relative strength or weakness of the parties involved in the transaction.  

Each of them has their strengths and weaknesses.

I remember when I was going to purchase a car and I have a 750 credit score but was denied a loan because I had a weak credit history.

Every state has economically strong & economically weak areas.2) Even within a city / metro area, some neighborhoods are losing people while others are gaining people.

Looking at a CRO mixed-use property with fairly weak current cash flow on paper, but a moderate price cut and a positive outlook on rent and lease growth would  make it a lot more appealing.

In my area- I can find deals on the MLS because I'm a very weak market - so not a lot of competition.

Well thank you - I am going to take your advice and paint the floors - I think it will look nice and not cost a whole lot.I will also have someone take a look at the foundation - that way if they do need to jack it up a bit - I can paint the walls AFTER they've potentially shifted or something.My main weakness is that I hate bugs and am horrified at the thought of crawling under the house.