We essentially cleaned it up.

The above may give a path for an inspector to 'get out of the way' - however it'd ultimately be their call if they would allow the engineer's sign-off to essentially allow them to get out of the way from a liability standpoint.Sounds like a bit of a pickle, but getting different answers from different contractors does not surprise me at all.The other thing that just crossed my mind is to do a 'sample' of the foundation by cutting, jack-hammering/removing a section of wall in a controlled way. 

I'm not 100% knowledgeable on HELOC's but if I have a $200,000 home paid off, and get a HELOC of 70% then I could essentially have a $140,000 line of credit to use to buy and rehab, then refinance and pay back my HELOC, rinse and repeat?

I asked if I could buy it from my grandfather on the negotiation of a seller financing deal where he would save money on taxes with monthly installment payments that would be his retirement essentially.

My credit score is currently 761, I've never owned my own home, and I'm single so the loan would be entirely in my name (unless I could find a partner, I haven't really looked into this option yet).What I would like to do, essentially, is find a duplex, triplex or quadplex that I can rent out, and hopefully free up some of my own money that I'm currently spending on rent, as well as being cash flow positive. 

@Matthew Couto The location, analysis, and acquisition of real estate is essentially the same everywhere...a real estate transaction is the same here as it is on the moon...so, that's the easy part.

It will essentially be taxed as a short term capital gain or regular income tax at that point.

My opinion...take the $500...I'm surprised the broker offered that...in fact, I'd say it was a mistake on his part, as he was essentially admitting negligence on his firm's part...That said, I'm not an attorney, so if you aren't happy with the $500, you should probably speak with one...

If you spend that precious little energy/time/money/effort on 1 of those "1,000,000 Seemingly Important But Really Nonessential Things Newbies Stay Up Late At Night Worrying About Before They Actually Do A Deal" questions then you are dramatically decreasing the odds that you will put enough of your energy/time/money/effort into one of the "Very Few Essential Things Newbies Need To Do To Get A Deal" things that will actually bring you success in this business.You need to become a psycho jealous husband with your energy/time/money/effort when you first get in this business.

I originally subscribed to the Essentials (middle) version ($35/month, but is currently discounted by 50% for 6 months or longer depending on your discount source).