The reason you see so much new construction other than unit shortages is they make money on the construction and usually sell to national REITs for a profit that are okay just moving cash around with very low returns (sometimes 0%).

In the purchase contract you can usually negotiate who pays closing costs.

You may want to do some direct mailing to non-owner occupied duplex owners - these are usually the best deals because they cut out the middle man.

@Alexis Miller usually banks require you to sign a mold disclosure before entering if it is that bad.

Reaching out once or using a single channel to reach out is usually not enough.

Long story short if you won’t pay the price someone else likely will, usually within a couple days.

Try small local banks, their seasoning periods are usually 6 months or so. 

I'm not sure why it would cause issues with the tenants, they're usually not reading the meters (or know how to read them/care to)...the meter-reader is.

The seller is basically telling you that they can't get their price and they are frustrated and decided to sell on their own...Sellers sometimes just don't listen to their agents and insist on listing at a price that's too high for the market and the property's condition.If a price is too high, buyers won't request to see the property.If the price is slightly high, buyers will come but won't submit offers.If the price is spot on, then the right buyers will submit offers.If the price is at a slight discount, there will be multiple offers.Also, and most importantly, the best offer usually comes in within the first 2-3 weeks.

I usually will give a rent increase number high enough to discourage them from wanting any upgrade.