@Mary Jay I empathize totally with your sentiments about your job, you wouldn't believe me if I told you the story of my last one, but you have to hit pause for a minute because you're all over the place.What I'm hearing you say is that you want to quit your job so you can go do something else/better... in order to do that you need to have other resources and income. 

As you all know most everyone has a cell and nothing else.

It'd likely take a long time to recapture the outlay from the savings... just use the lump sum you already have to do something else with greater return.6% to 5% on 100k w/ 20% down is what like 21 bucks a mo savings...

Some things you will really want to make sure of:Cities requirements for duplex splits.Counties requirements for duplex splits.Assessors requirements and their time frame for completing the split and recording legals.Duplex price vs attatched single family price.Party wall agreement.Let me know your thoughts... is anyone else already doing this?

Thanks Greg, that is exactly what I was thinking and wondering if someone else had done it and what their experience was?

Bathrooms and kitchen were in rough shape and we had to replace the cabinets in the kitchen.Back patio was a failed attempt at something, not sure what though.Everything else was pretty standard.What was done:Painted house inside and out.Replaced flooring with new laminate, tile and carpet.

Ive found several agents I like, but I don't know what else I need to do other than contact them about the property.

If I like this place, the people, and the amenities should I just continue renting this private room and not find somewhere else?

Why else would they be looking?

What you should ask yourself (at least as a starting point) is "what would I pay someone else to do the work I did?".