He sold it 2 years ago (sorta peak market) but is entertaining an off market deal with the current owners.

I thought about trying to put something up where my little deck is and at my door, but he will still hear me, and he can see me then the second I step off of the stairs.

One of the main areas you need to avoid is anything off of Murchison Rd.

I had a remediation contractor come out, and he told me the levels on the report is what he'd expect from a basement in Portland, and any amount of washing / bleaching wouldn't reduce the levels much long term as more moisture would enter the space up from the slab because concrete will always give off some moisture, and he couldn't really recommend much remediation. 

The land is owned and paid off, budgets are dialed, bids are in, etc.

How will you pay off the HELOC? 

It seems that someone else got to it before I did or it’s overpriced, and I can’t make a profit if I flip it. my goal of flipping 3-10 this year is dwindling and I don’t know how to find the “off market” properties being a small fish in a big pond.

If you want to value add you are better off with a structurally sound unit that is priced low and you can rebuild from the ground up front loading the risk.  

Options:1) Wait for the right duplex to go on the market and expect to pay $160-$200k for it with rents around $1400-$1600 for a 3 bedroom. 2) buy a massive project for $90k off market from our real estate agent.

Saving $10k or $20k off a purchase price is maybe $120/mo difference in payment.