They are often too small of a margin for the effort.

You have closing costs and holding costs and realtor fees (if you use one) -- all of which would leave you with very little to no profit for all your effort.

@Prachel C. you've got a lot of great answers already.Let me caution you, you want to make absolutely sure that your extra efforts end up making you more money than a traditional landlord would make.

Frankly, if I were you this project would not be worth my time and effort, as it's too labor intensive and complex to add another bedroom and bath.Furthermore, it is not standard to have a master bedroom in the basement coupled with the fact that you would need to have proper ingress and egress approved by the city.I am sure that there are lots of other opportunities to pursue in that neighborhood and beyond.Lastly, all the BPers who chimed in are simply giving their views as well, but, it's your call on this one as to whether or not you want to undertake this massive headache for very little ROI.

Where do you focus your efforts in Indy?

@Trevor EwenNicely done and thanks for your efforts!

The plumber's quote including for him to dig out with backhoe was $2500 so using a cheap laborer was worth the extra effort.  

v=gMUAhXYuClAIf you don't want to watch it, it basically shows you how to bulk mail yellow letters with very little effort.  

@James WiseHow much should he get for his effort?

Some people don't have a lot of personal assets, so the asset protection aspect does nothing for them and it's a waste of effort, time and money.