Also, they understood that in order for said exit to work, they'd need to leave plenty of meat on the bone for me - they did.

Generally there is more meat on the bone but ti does take additional work on my side.

You should move to a less expensive apartment, cut all unnecessary expenses to the bone and adopt a more frugal life style.

I agree with @Brent Coombs --not enough meat on the bone here. 

Make no bones about it, you may or may not get paid by this contractor.

Midcentury neighborhood ripe for turning over, solid bones just completely outdated and plenty of square footage.

Wholesaling is hard, you basically have to know how to be a flipper and just make less money, it takes either a ton of time or a good amount of money to find sellers willing to sell at a price that leaves meat on the bone for the investor and wholesaler. 

As long as it has good bones you will be good to go.

I was going to throw them a bone for the duplex thing, but now it seems far more likely this clog was all their doing.

Bad deal not enough meat on the bone .