Despite the rain we had in Houston recently, I managed to get the exterior repair completed.

Getting a HELOC, as opposed to actually refinancing, while you are an owner occupant of the duplex, and still going FHA on your next purchase?  

We are reaching out to him to explore just what you mention - retaining the exterior facade and incorporating enough to the interior - particularly the trompe l'oeil - to pay respect to the history of the building.Senior living is an avenue we are exploring, but might be cost prohibitive if an elevator need be incorporated.We dismissed B&B - the property would be fitting, but they are in abundance already and some of the older, more established ones are struggling these days.If it wasn't for the fact we have real winters here and 6500 ft^2 of this age costs ~10-12K to heat - we could experiment with less risk.The purchasing of this property will undoubtedly be the least costly aspect of a deal.

I am not opposed to wholesaling it if I cant find financing, but this is one I really want to put a stamp on. 

I am doing to property management for now.It is not appreciation based, but that is what takes most of the risk of the buying decision here for me.The monthly expenses that I am calculating are:Gas & Electric: $100, for exterior lights and water heater.Water: Individually metered units, tenants responsibilityGarbage is taken care of by the city out of the property taxesMaintenance: $250 because of the condition of the property and warranties in place.

Trevor, I enjoy the work and i do think it becomes a risk vs. reward issue as opposed to a like/ dislike.

So with roofs and AC's (the biggest CapExs), they tend to have a shorter lifespan in Little Haiti/Liberty City/Overtown.Re: the next Wynwood...If you are investing in order to capitalize on that future boom, I kinda think you'd be better off squeezing a 3rd bdrm for a 3/2 as opposed to another unit.

Your renovations are ruined.So you need to find out the age and status of each of the following: roof, doors (exterior and apartment entry doors), windows, siding/brick pointing, plumbing risers and laterals, electrical wiring between the meters and the sub panels, furnaces/mechanicals, attic insulation, basement water/seepage.

While I'm not opposed to wholesaling in general I do think that a licensed individual operating in the capacity of a principal that assigns a contract could potentially be viewed by a court of law to have brokered a transaction instead of having been the principal since they didn't actually go on title. 

We drove by and it looks like they are in need of some expensive exterior work ie paint and roof.