Where the finished part ends there is a short retaining wall about 2.5 feet tallI've gotten a few very informal estimates for extending the basement back another 5 feet and putting in a small 1 bedroom in-law unit.

Now, she may not retain everything she read, but that's not as important as being aware of something and knowing where to find an answer!

I called a real estate lawyer, thinking I could add him to my so called team, "Sure I'll work with you, give me a retainer of $1,000 and when you find a deal I'll tell you what to do!"

not a novice game.. simply go to  a land use planner or civil engineer in the area and retain them to do a due diligence report for you. 

Even though in my offer, I retained right to cancel at any time during the inspection contingency. 

I have been on the hunt for a nice balance of low taxes (compared to NJ almost anything is low taxes to me) and close proximity to central locations that retain low vacancy.

I've flooding my head with podcasts on BP and trying to retain as much as possible, feeling a bit overwhelmed but it's making some sense.

You need to retain control of the deal if you are going to manage it.

Is there an equity "sweet spot" where you maximize cash flow while retaining the most ownership?  

Maybe you can shed some light on cost savings as it relates to, retaining 1 part of the original structure (in the event of a teardown-rebuild scenario), where be it, a wall or a prescribed portion of the original structure is retained, per the request of the city/county?