@Joseph Coleman yes when you originally posted this.

If you're looking for original art, you could consider contacting the AP art teacher at a local high school and asking them to coordinate commissioning a student to make something for you or purchasing from a student.

The project will most likely end up costing us $10-15K more than we originally budgeted, this comes from being new to all this and not knowing near what we know now!

Any help  appreciated as most of the homes in my area have had bathrooms and kitchens added in places they originally weren’t. 

Just do your research and don't bid more than your original bottom line.

Originally posted by @Michael Ansley:Thank you for the advice.

In a former life this was fairly common but I would have it paid to escrow and then credited off my origination fee, if that makes sense.

Originally posted by @Fred Heller:Not giving legal advice, but moving out before the lease expires does not mean you forfeit the security deposit.

This is rare but may occur with notes originated with private parties.  2 - the lender gives his blessing to the assumption of the note.  

Yeah I cringe when I see a MERS originated mortgage, and tend to skip those when buying NPLs.