I was one of the largest HML in the space prior to 08 I did about 2,000 of these from 02 to 08 melt down  LOL..

We are headed there to see what's going on.

Use your relative’s money for the down payment. 

@Kong Yong Get in your car, drive down every street in your target market, write down the address of the houses that look like they are in bad shape, get on property records and finding the mailing address of the owner, mail them....

exploring different options right now, might start with something temporary for now and then maybe change things permanently later if the codes allow itit's definitely a bit of a strange building...but the whole building is built like that so maybe that's the "in" thing these days hai am sure i will have a zillion more questions down the road...thank you all!!

But, ultimately it basically boils down to retaining cash/liquidity in the event that you desire to make additional investments (or, as it seems your concerns may be hinting to, in case you need it for something else).

a swing up or down 5 or 10% doesn't really impact me a ton i don't think.with that said it's certainly a worthy topic of conversation.

Feel free to reach out with specific questions once you ahev narrowed down your plan. - Chris Kersey 

Once you have that you can qualify for a low money down loan and buy a double. 

We tore down our garage, expanded the footprint, and rebuilt.