To avoid plumbing and water damage, check for spots on the walls and floors that look discolored or warped and feel to see if they’re soft or mushy.

The other route would be to stick to distressed assets and reposition them, take them down with soft-hard money and refinance later.

Do you currently have a decent to well paying job?

It allows you to include the purchase price + rehab costs + soft costs into one mortgage. 

I have a soft spot for the kids.

You can estimate by calling paint contractors, drywall, plumber,etc and ask what they charge to do a room or by the square foot and applying that when you do your initial walk thru.I divide my costs into hard and soft costs.Hard costs are known costs.

The soft soil, hard water and constant AC use by most Texans create a lot of maintenance issues.

The other day I noticed a large rip in the soft top of my Jeep Wrangler right after the landscapers left.

If you're doing an extensive rehab or asset re-position, a soft-money option can close in about 10 business days and you can write the offer like cash.

You will also need to account for the holding costs and soft costs when doing this kind of a project.