I'm hoping Bigger Pockets can help keep my spirits up, guide me in the right direction so I don't loose all our savings and maybe even find me a partner/private money to lessen the burden on this newbie.Sorry for the long post.

Private message me and I can share more Larry, nice to meet you by way of BP - all we do is full "redevelopments".Best,John

We had been in talks with another duplex owner in downtown Phoenixville but his $320K asking price and our $20K in private startup cash weren't a good match.

You have the option of selecting a city inspector or private inspector (who is a regular home inspector on RRIO's approved list- we went this route), and he inspected the units the city requested, plus the exterior, roof, common areas...  

If anyone is in the Houston area, please feel free to contact me via private messaging!

Heeellllllpp......, I've recently gotten into this beautiful thing called Real Estate Investing (you really should look into it!) And want to see if I can prove to the rest of the naysayers wrong in every way that you...

Traditional bank financing is out, Being an investment and being self employed with low income after tax write offs, so I opt for private or hard money lending with an interest only loan as traditional financing is not currently available to me.After rehab I now have 40% equity in the home (property now appraises for $233,000).

I would also use Hard Money Lenders, Private Money or a short term bank loan for most of the purchase cost.

Borrow the bulk of it from deep pocket lenders, then a private lender for the rest on the big ones.  

Finding private money will probably be your best bet.