To my surprise, the owner is also a local councilman and recently faced many lawsuit charges.

Not saying this is the case... but with proper tax planning there should be zero surprises.

So the buyer is really finding the house anyway, they'll likely find FSBO (unless you have a crap realtor that filters those out, which wouldn't surprise me). 

I personally don't like being bound by the restrictions of an old home - discovering all sorts of surprises behind the walls.

I'm also looking for some future investment properties so I'm always keeping my eyes open.As I said, I am new to the area, so check out with a Realtor (one of the guys here on BP of course :-).....I see a lot of opportunities just West of Surprise.

I can’t answer specifics about your property, but not surprised you are seeing a steep rise.

If you would like to see the guidelines for IRS auditors regarding Cost Seg, you can find them starting on Page 24 of this document https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5653.pdfI would be very surprised if you could claim unpaid labor in your Cost Seg. 

Currently in DFW (assuming, because MKE may be similar in this regard), I would find it a surprise if you cover your cost of living completely (i.e. living for $0, or getting paid while in the unit) at this time of relatively higher (read: historically AVG) interest rates compared to 2-10 years ago.  

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

You could always sand and stain them , a couple coats of gloss poly and you would be surprised .