You need the right solution for your day to day operations.Your need is to make the management side easy, so that you can analysis your accounting, business and management all with only one entry.

I removed the chimney and added modern HVAC, making it the only house on the block with it, significantly enhancing its value.

You can see this in the graph below:The graph also shows that DOM is worst in 2024 than any of the previous 6 years:(So, you are not alone in experiencing this.Now, just don't take this as a pass to not try harder to find your own solution for this problem:)

I have a solution that I do myself once a year.Here's one of my best tips: go on Airbnb as a TRAVELER, in Traveler mode.

Given the latter costs, a corporation can be the best solution only if you buy multiple properties.

I removed the chimney and added modern HVAC, making it the only house on the block with it, significantly enhancing its value.

My humble advice to anyone attempting to do creative finance is:Creative finance is for experienced investors who have access to capital if anything goes wrong.Learn the lawsDon't use a contract "off the internet", laws vary by state and are also regulated on a federal levelLearn the financing techniques correctlyDon’t skip parts of the processDon’t ever do a “kitchen table” closingUse the proper deedAn attorney can help you with the legal work, but the rest you are on your ownYour guru will not bail you out“Investing” in someone else’s deal by providing a small 2nd loan so the “investor” can pay for “cash to the seller” and for “closing costs” so he can do the deal is a very bad planKnow what problems can ariseLearn the responses and solutions to problems before they are neededKnow everything there is to know about Title and what that meansKnow who a "protected class" individual isLearn the "back doors"Learn human natureUnderstand timelinesUnderstand regulation enforcement (some of these "mistakes" have a 10 year statue of limitations ( they can charge you 10 years AFTER you do the transaction) and carry hefty fines and possible imprisonmentThe court doesn't accept "I didn't know" for an answer"Know that the source of the lead plays a serious role in some states and federallyKnow how much of a "profit" pushes the boundaries to invite an investigationYou can be sued by the seller if you don’t do things correctlyYou are automatically at fault if an investigator or attorney or regulator gets involved.

You may have to search a bit for the right contractor or engineer - sometimes I see one solution dominating in an area - "that is how we always do it" 

I can not picture a single scenario where this is a "solution" for anyone other than the middle man. 

But my solution in your case would be to frame out a dividing wall of 2x4s and either drywall or if the basement is prone to taking on water then I’d look for something waterproof as opposed to the drywall.