Considering the job was subpar, the only way he could have made me feel better was to rebate some of his cost but he was already losing money on this task (It was a $2400 job including the materials (initially 3.5 yards of concrete and the material for the forms), I am fairly sure he had over 100 hours on it after all the attempts to fix it).This demonstrates one reason that these costs are high. 

My biggest sticking point at the moment is a lack of capital, so I am going to attempt to BRRR.Here’s the strategy: find a property requiring some light rehab (floors, paint, kitchen cabinets, landscaping) in the Point Place neighborhood for <$60k.

He quickly called the title company back and corrected his attempt to screw me out of $750.

Quotes to attempt to fix the walls or cover with a shotcrete have been pretty similar to the drain. 

You seem determined to attempt to find a way to DIY this... 

@Emil Pinlac I would suggest taking the @Christian Rozo approach and attempt to house hack, lenders punch your info into the system and spit out a pre qualification if you have all your ducks in a row you should get an answer in 24-48 hours.I flipped and sold a duplex here in Sacramento for 285k the property manager rented each side out for $1200.

I continue to monitor the area of Kensington Ave/E Somerset St as new houses are going up right there attempting to ride the Fishtown wave.  

The good news is that you now attempt to move into the bottom non-paying unit instead of the top.

how much reserve in percent should I think about and what things should I have in place before my first attempt at an offer?

I am attempting to go from analysis paralysis to action.My primary residence was purchased through conventional 30 yr fixed rate mortgage at 3.875% and presently have approximately 100k-130k of equity in the house.Option 1: Take heloc in equity of 100k on primary residence to complete a brrrr on a small multi family.