@Howard Mayne
Congrats on finding a house in a great area that needs cosmetic work and tackling the "live-in flip". My wife and I are now in escrow completing our 2nd live in flip. They are not easy and take lots of patience and hard work to finish, especially if you're doing any work yourself.
If you budget is limited, and what budget isn't, I'd recommend trying to do anything you can yourselves. The shelves in the mud room, for example, is something you could do in a weekend and not add it to the contractor's scope. However, the new wood floors and other more complicated tasks that require some experience and lots of tools, I'd hire out. Painting is another good thing you can do to save a few dollars.
As for what you should do, always kitchen and bathroom updates (lighting, hardware, counters, cabinets/vanities, plumbing fixtures, faucets) should be your top priority. Our current place was built in 1965 and it was ORIGINAL!!! We put down new engineered floors (hired out) and painted every single surface (ourselves), but other than that, the only other things we did were update the kitchen and both bathrooms. Those are the keys to selling a house for top dollar with the most buyer interest.
For things I'd defer or not do, the outdoor kitchen is a nice to have in your own place, but it won't appeal to every buyer and you may not see the return on that cost. I'd do the patio (cover if you can afford it) and buy a nice grill that you can keep or sell with the house. Much easier and cheaper.
Best of luck with your project!! The absolute most important thing with a live in flip is don't do some work and get complacent. It's easy to get it "nice enough" and stop, but when it's time to sell, that leaves lots of things to finish up before listing the house.
