Immediately, the goal was to make the home look less like a well-maintained grandparents' home and more like a lake homeWe resurfaced the brick fireplaces with lake stone veneers, which really transformed the spaceWe repainted everything in neutral / natural tones (beige, greys, light blue, light green)In the ensuing years, we added landscaping beds using rocks from around the propertyBuilt a paver patio, pathway, and firepitAdded a retaining wall landscaping bed to redirect water What was the outcome?

Furnace and AC filters, dryer vent cleaning, gutter cleaning, smoke detector batteries, storm drains, wood burning fireplaces/chimneys, exterior window washing, roof cleaning, you name it.

I paid off the loan in 2021 (inheritance plus good savings from my job, and April 2022 I decided to get a HELOC do a renovation, and make the house modern and fancy (R&Q select oak  throughout, modern kitchen, took down 2 walls for open space vibe, modern electric fireplace bumpout with cabinets in veneer wood, bar in veneer wood, remodeled master bathroom, Sonos music system throughout the house.

We have had a few hiccups along the way with an old fireplace that prevented us from opening up the kitchen/dining wall to create a big open space, and so we've had some design changes out of the gate, but still moving ahead.

I have a wood-burning fireplace in one of my SF homes.

3500 in renovations from savings, new carpeting, paint, fixtures, doors, blinds/curtains, baseboards, heaters, refinished cupboards, new flooring, closet doors and organizer, electric fireplace.

I'd like to "shift" that over about 3', closer to the fireplace, and close about 3' of the wall that is now open, adding a couple of interior dividing walls. 

Fireplace?

I added a new hot water heater, updated bathroom faucets, replaced a few broken tiles, repaired the sprinkler system, and repaired the fireplace.

But in San Antonio Texas things like a sloping floor (many old houses) that prevents a door from closing all the way means a section 8 issue.A house does not have to be up to section 8 standards to find renters.In San Antonio I have seen old houses rent with sloping floors, missing the glass from 3 windows, fireplaces crumbing onto the ground, birds inside, bugs inside, no screens, roofs that leak like a deluge, backdoor with no handle or lock, porch roof held up by a huge duck taped stack of books, grass 3 feet high, plywood over missing windows, some with a combination of these issues when the renter moved in and when they moved out.That's in San Antonio.Some would call it Slum housing, but there are no Slums in San Antonio, just some older not cared for homes in the older neighborhoods that some people rent mixed in with decent kept up houses.