I had the walkthrough with the tenants and the home was clean and in really decent shape....visually.

@Stephen MasekIn my opinion it's not worth the money on a two story building in the city with no visual structural issues.I do have earthquake insurance on my St Louis buildings though.

We are licensed general and electrical contractors,real estate brokers, as well as developers, plus our son does virtual visualization (renderings, etc.) and do a wide array of things.

The HSH calculator is an excellent tool for visualizing the nuances. http://www.hsh.com/refinance-calculator (keep scrolling!)

Set up a visual control board in office. 7.

Doug and Mike try to get a visual on the property during a scout before the auction- although it doesn't always happen.

I am sketching out master plans and going to construct a rudimentary model of it(I am a visual person) so I can see things that may not work together.

I found from the inspections that it will require more work to rehab the house than thought: big items, plumbing, roof etc that was not apparent with a visual walk arround.

I also take photos AND video of every property that we estimate so that if a homeowner calls to ask be questions about the estimate, I can refer to my visual references without having to drive back to the property.Every contractor is different, so I would ask them each to explain their estimating procedures and associated costs.

As for staging, I can tell you from having developed subdivisions, etc. that staging not only helps with the looks of a home to make it more appealing, but with visualizing space.