Seems like a huge task to take on, but looks like you had a solid plan. 

Thanks for completely wasting 5 minutes of perfectly good nap time, William.If I see your name, it won't happen again.

Congrats on a solid first year... and again, thanks for sharing!

A solid contract, his license, and a contractors bond.

The neighborhood already started gentrification  offering solid cash flow projections.The deal offers both solid income and a strategy for a profit at exit. 

Resolving issues that the city council doesn't have to worry about and waste time on.

It's a solid start, I think :)  I terminated another deal because things were just getting sketchier and sketchier with the seller/HOA/etc, and am actually glad to have backed out of it. 

My questions are: 1) Is this a solid 1st investment?

Trust me a budget my money to the penny, but its just not feasible for us right now and i don't want to waste any more time.

If not, then I suggest you sell it and use the equity to buy a solid investment for a better return.