If they were identical and one wanted a parking block painted and the other didn't care, who is to say the seller has to take the one that wanted the work done at any cost?

I have about $300 on my credit cards (just finally paid them off for the most part, and have about $20,000 limit).My cash on hand is relatively light, but what my plan was was to find some single family homes in the north Detroit area (currently anywhere from $40-$60k and put about $15-20k tops into any repairs or fixes (not looking for total rehabs, mostly something I can do some small repairs here and there and paint, personally I am knowledgeable about renovating up until complex electric and plumbing).

Given you said it’s unlivable, you’re probably looking at kitchen, bath, floors and paint.

The duplex needs about $25K in work (update flooring, update the kitchen, update the bathrooms, paint the walls). 

How much should I pay to have my house re-painted in Palm Coast, FL?  

They should be reported to the real estate commission in your state every single time because they are ripping equity from people while pretending to be a fiduciary.

Est ARV is 100-120K (good school district and solid B neighborhood).I haven't walked it yet (I will next week), but according to seller, it just needs paint, flooring throughout, new kitchen countertops (possibly cabinets too).

Especially in terms of framing, sheetrock, or painting crews. 

However, minor cosmetic repairs or repairs to personal property cannot be deducted such as paint, replacing broken hardware, fixing leaks or holes, etc.(2) If you have other types of investments (e.g., stocks or mutual funds) that are operating at a loss, if you liquidate those investments to take a loss, you can use those losses to offset your capital gains.

Still have a bathroom to gut, walls and stairway to be sanded/painted, exterior trim to be replaced and the whole exterior painted.