I have a design scenario on this home I wanted to get my fellow BP Flippers & Amateur Designers to chime in on...This is the current 1 car garage, workshop, water heater and washer & dryer room for this neat Craftsman home we are renovating.

A good background check, is done by a combination of database information, but more importantly human interaction with past landlords, and employers.  

Use those answers to make a combined list (kind of a master list) of overall pros and cons to consider.

I planned to use the equity combined with cash to make a cash offer on a duplex. 

New roof, working fireplace (downstairs unit), hardwood floors in the downstairs unit and basement (no washer/dryer though).

One said that there needed to be a gas cap over a dryer gas line, which was a reasonable observation, but the fix was $.59.

Those two factors combined really sparked the boom years of 2012 and 2013.

I currently own two homes with about $250,000 in equity combined.

I once had a younger woman try to sell me a house she said was hers.

I'm really puzzled why you are considering these markets if your primary objective is appreciation combined with some cash flow.