There is a demo that will definitely need to take place.

We have received a bid from a reputable contractor, but we now see that we will be required to do a good deal of the demo work to stay within our budget.

What I've bought out of state has been fairly new construction and while there is maintenance (garbage disposals, hot water heaters, etc.) that's a far cry away from demoing walls.  

@Steve Yang @Dotan CooperBe very careful with section 8 in Indianapolis.

@Steve Yang..Did you find what you were looking for yet?  

Perhaps you could offer some labor in return for the privilege of watching the process (demo, painting, landscaping, etc.).

If you haven't seen the calculator demos they have on here, they are pretty cool, but I love that kind of stuff.

I suspect your correct varies by state the one I did I had to put all the cash into escrow day of closing  100k plus.. but there was 300k in profit in that one deal.. so it was worth it for us .. demo ing the house this week.. 3 700k new builds starting in the summer.  2.1 million deal.. would I do this for low end homes no way.. too many to buy and not worth my time.

So I added the costs for demo/covering it.  

They don't ensure all the nails are up on a demo, the paint scrapings will be there for years to come in the bushes and landscaping.