It seems as though you have developed a great strategy of handling these types of tenants, but with this being our first rental property (and me being a 5'1 female against these two), there's no way I could chance my safety. 

Financing:  Chances of you getting financing for a new LLC are slim to none unless you have a track record with your lender.  

Even if it was still deductible, chances are that your total itemized deductions, including HELOC, would be less than the new standard deduction: $12k for singles, $24k for marrieds.

My estimate: 4-5kNew carpet with padding.

Estimate around 500-600 to put aside for vacancies, insurance, repairs etc.. netting me 1500 month cash flow which puts me exactly at 20% down payment at just under 3 years.Is my thinking logical?

PP of $110k with an estimated ARV of $300k due to the duplex out back.

I doubt that would be an issue because while Chase has their problems, they don't typically hold a faulty foreclosure sale and then put an REO on the open market to sell, until its resolved.The one accurate statement is that yes, in terms of title issues, it could be anything, or, it could be nothing.If Chase owns it and has since 2015, chances are that they'll sell it when they are ready to sell it.

The estimated budget for the rehab is as follows:The rent increase will be $200 on the unit, going from $725 to $925 or a 27.5% increase.

Then you can play with the estimates (repairs, CapX, etc) to see where you are at. 

I think I’d try to get 2 or 3 grand for the drama. 0% chance an inexperienced person with limited funds is walking away from 10k.