Welcome to the site @Andrew Poitras

That duplex's septic had just failed and he replaced it with unlicensed sloppy work.

In either case for what I'm doing, I need an architect for the site plan for the change of use and a land use attorney for the legal aspects and complying with the notifications to the surrounding property owners. 

its a great place to find like minded folks who run the gambit of highly experienced to total beginners and everything in between.. although I would say its slanted towards those starting their journey and many once they get going and have some success contribute less frequently.you have those that are in some sort of sales business so are always marketing themselves or their companies.. through writing blogs and or posting on the site with regularity. 

These folks fail to consider the new 100k value will have a 100k tax bill.

Welcome to the site @Anthony Rios

So why are all these flipping sites and books having us upgrade bathrooms and kitchens and all sorts of stuff if we won't even recoup the costs of these projects?

Making money part-time in real estate is extremely difficult and likely to fail.

They make more money if you succeed than if you fail, so they do more due diligence than a traditional bank does.

I visited sites similar to this, but didn't find information to be sufficient enough.