We also found second hand Corian for two small kitchens was a great really diy inexpensive and durable solution.

This home was so simple to get it exactly where we needed it to be able to rent and that was worth every penny we may have sacrificed waiting for a cheaper deal that may have needed some work.

I keep it short and simple. 

At the time, Charlestown was still considered a neighborhood you didn't want to be, and though much of our process was simple-minded and far from analytical, we rolled the dice and pursued the opportunity based on a rather street-level intuition of knowing that a location like Charlestown would not stay that way forever.

Anyway I have about $135k available on my heloc. sale price on the duplex is $279,000, so 20% is about $56k. the house is perfectly livable as-is, but at $60/sqft and properties on the block selling for $140/sqft i think there is room for some forced appreciation. the building is currently a three-floor duplex townhouse, one unit is the ground floor and unit two is the top two floors. all floors are basically the same floor plan. the second floor has a kitchen/laundry stacked above the first floor kitchen/laundry. on the third floor, the room is in the same place and empty, but utilities (water gas electric) are already run and in place for adding a third kitchen/laundry, so conversion to triplex would be simple as installing cabinets and appliances and building an exterior staircase up to the second floor rear deck. the three 2bed/1bath units would rent for $1000-$1200 a month each, conservatively. we would have to find somewhere else to live for that to happen, but that is our 1-3 year goal anyway. would it be better to make the bank loan smaller with a bigger down payment from the HELOC?

One piece of advice I would give my younger self if I could be KISS....Keep It Simple Silly.

There're some DIY websites for cost seg that can do the trick for about $500.

I think a simple partnership accomplishes what is needed without the ongoing cost.

I would also try to discover if the basement was finished by a licensed professional vs a rookie who doesn't know the ins and outs of DIY.

I'm looking for solutions to a working but not ideal business model.
I bought in cash a cheap, run down house in a desirable neighborhood and am preparing to rent it as a single family home. I will have 150k into it ...