I am a 49 year old layed-off oil & gas person that is tired of being someone else's pawn.  

Here are two of my favorite lease clauses that should help you. a.Landlord informs the Tenant that the sewer system of the Premises is not designed to accept many types of items, included but not limited to, paper diapers, sanitary napkins, tampons, and children’s toys, balls of hair, grease, oil, table scraps, clothing, rags, sand, dirt, rocks or newspaper.

Overall the Oz economy has slowed significantly (mostly due to the oil and mining slowdown) but relatively low interest rates (nothing as low as US or CDN) are driving those investors that can, to invest (plus our currency is now much cheaper than just 1 - 1.5 yr ago). 

Quick intro about myself: I just graduated from Mizzou with a degree in business, I own a mobile oil changing company, I am starting to believe the only channel on television should be CNBC, and I can't wait to learn as much as possible about real estate.

Also does anyone think that the oil downturn will severely hurt the housing market in Houston? 

I have tankless oil at one rental and tenants are ok with it, we don't have space for a tank electric and they are using oil heat anyway. 

So here is how I would set this up: Kitchen: Appliances - $6,000 Cabinets - $10,000Countertop - $70-110/sqftSink - $1,500Faucet - $500Cab pulls - $500 (or $6-10/pull) Install - $2,000Flooring: Floor product (unfinished): (expect to pay 4 - 10 dollars per board foot for anything quality) Floor finishing (sanding, coating etc) roughly $3/Sq ft (as long as you are using a standard coating (polyurethane) if you want to go higher end with an oil or stain expect this to jump to 4-5/sq ft Bathrooms:Demo: $/hour x expected hours Underlayment: Schulter Shower System (approx: 500/shower enclosure) Tile/grout/thinset: 6-10 sq/ftInstall: $3-6 sq/ft Lighting and Electric: (pricing includes installation)   Switches: approx $30/switch  (this assumes a mid range Leviton 3-way dimmer) Outlets: $10 (TR Leviton duplex, GFI where needed and duplex/USB combo in Kitchen Island and a few choice locations) Lighting:Surface mount approx $150/fixtureCan: approx. $250/fixture (assuming old work install by electrician)A little more on why I do it this way: Kitchen: You can figure out exactly how much your kitchen is going to cost before you start.

Oil spill on the premises?

Many investors lost their buildings a few years ago when oil spiked and they couldn't afford it.  

Many of the lots have things that would need to be removed like septic tanks, oil tanks, trailers, house etc.