I am looking for a moderate rehab for a property (windows, flooring, dry wall) and potentially adding a bathroom etc.

There is another post on here where a guy loaned money to his friend, then the deal fell through and it turns out his friend took his $24k and paid some back taxes with it, so the trust is gone, the money is probably gone, and he is left high and dry. 

We did see some standing water toward the back part of the backyard when we looked at this house, but we were hoping it was still just drying up since we had such a snowy winter.

The duplex I'm considering is right near downtown and some small businesses (dry cleaners, restaurant, gas station, grocery store, etc.).QUESTIONS:1.)

I gave The quotes I was getting were in a broad range but most of them said it would likely be closer to the $14K mark based on soil conditions of the area (all clay).

Jobs dried up and people were out of work.  

We can address the soil erosion up top with plants, but the wall erosion, that I guess I'll need to have addressed.  

It's also pretty dry in there so I don't really have any concerns of mildew or anything like that.

I have been getting many phone calls lately from purchasers saying residential is drying up.

It was already fixed in the inside, and the problem was all the gutters flowed to a common point near the foundation and plainly visible if someone looked as the soil was washed away near the gutter drain.