(I cannot stand cigarette smell) In any case, my landlord tried getting rid of the odor, which was always temporary and basically smelled like a "pretty smell" mixed with the cigarette smell.

This unit mix would not excite me.Would the deal cash-flow if there is even a temporary drop in the housing benefits program?

A Bank is a bad place to keep your money unless it is temporary. 

Be prudent, just make sure that you only utilize (say) 60-70% of your HELOC capacity on the deal, so that you have plenty of extra capacity on the line to carry the property for up to a year in a worst case scenario.As an investor, if you have good income/credit, it's a great idea to shore up your unsecured borrowing capacity.

Moving / Storage costs - one-way to temporary lodging What resource in NY State is best to consult to further explore / validate legally acceptable options?  

I am from Rhode Island, so I know how expensive it is where you are located on the North Shore.  

Make a plan and stick to it because this is temporary pain for long-term gain!

Something seems off, unless it was under a roadway that you had to build a temporary bypass for traffic and had engineering requirements that added a major expense.

No permits are required if 120 sq ft (or less) for a 'temporary structure.'   

Augering was only a temporary fix.