@Tom Harkins- I am quite late in asking this, but what were some of the pitfalls or perhaps disadvantages in dealing with a claim yourself?

We painted, replaced flooring, added countertops, fixtures, and bathroom finishes.

Many Martis buyers are interested in form over function and the builds can reflect that, with more $ spent on adding square footage and finishes than the details that aren't seen (insulation, ventilation, water management, etc). 

You didn't specifically mention this but I just finished Start with Strategy by Dave Meyer a couple weeks ago and while it's a great book for anyone at any point in their investing journey, I WISH I had read that earlier because it's so helpful.

Has this been your experience as of late?

Your response was a little late.

Even the banks and lenders are happy to do buisiness all over Detroit as of late. 

I've heard Guesty for Pro has been having so many issues lately and for the price it's not worth it.

And the cost to mitigate was over 1 mil.. so we just had to fence it off and we lost I think3 or 4 lots but did not have to do the work.. lot values at the time ( late 80s) were 125k each but we did not have to run utls which was 30k each ..

Good luck with bringing the deal to the finish line!