For others we do have something called restore shops in the chicago land area - I go to the one in addison , they have some nice brand new windows at huge discount .

It would be great to hear from others who have already been through the rigors of a complicated restoration.

I feel that I get to restore not only a home but part of a neighborhood.

Don’t give her special treatment(that means don’t give in) and tell her if she’d like to request to do these upgrades herself(installing a nest or smart thermostat isn’t hard) she can pay for it but if she takes it when she leaves she needs to restore the house back to normal.

RESIDENT agrees to pay all costs resulting from the alteration and agrees to pay to the OWNER/Agent any costs associated with restoring the inside wiring to the condition at the time of move-in, except for reasonable wear and tear.

buy all the different written materials from different gurus there will be a lot of information in those.. just use what you like discard the rest or resell the package on E bay 

You will want to find a restoration general contractor that is familiar with your insurance carrier and their guidelines. 

You really need to find out the source or cause of the house's current condition in order to feel comfortable that the proposed work will restore it to proper working order.

He kept one credit card open so that he can rebuild his credit as quickly as possible (by showing a good payment history on a credit account which will have been open for a long time by the time his credit is restored).None of that means he won't pay you. 

I flip fire damaged houses and own a fire damage restoration company.There is a lot that I can't say without seeing more details.