For the ceiling prime the stain with a heavy primer two to three coats then repaint the ceiling if you know where the leak can from.

In addition to bringing the plumbing, electric, and HVAC up to code, I also removed a wall between the kitchen and living room, expanded the bathroom, replaced the remaining old windows, repaired stucco, rebuilt the entry steps, replaced all lighting fixtures, refinished all hardwood floors, and repainted.

A long tenancy (3-5 years plus) with lots of normal wear and tear might have you start with repainting and new flooring.I have seen rules of thumb like no more than a month's rent, etc as a cap....And of course you could offset any damages with the deposit.

Bedrooms and living room are in good shape with exception of two walls with old wall paper.The kitchen needs to be completely repainted to include all walls and ceilings. 

Hello all.Since first getting involved and educated in real estate investing, I have consistently heard that mistakes will be made, well we made our first one and I wanted to put it out to BP and get suggestions of how best to dig out of this mess.We have been investing in Southeast, MI.I know, I know, insert jokes here.Recently, we cash purchased a 2/1.5 home with a garage for 22.5K, about half of what the seller was asking.The seller was an estate of a family member that lived in the home and recently passed away.We were aware the front concreate porch, was pulling away the home and the design of the roof connected to the front porch.We knew we would need to repair/replace the front porch and we set about 20K for repairs.We were also aware that the home had lead based paint.We got quotes for the porch (15K) for the porch and getting the lead paint removed and repainting the home (4.2K).We also got a quote for siding which was 19K.This was obviously over our anticipated budget.We realize now that we made a mistake buying the house because the area we bought the home in is flat or slightly above flat growth.If you were in this position what would you do?

And evidently, this gave them further "license" to repair some walls that they had damaged and repaint.  

And absolutely expect to repaint all walls from at least three feet down to the floor.

Repaint is a must after remove and patch.

One thing you can do is go to Home Depot or Menards or such and get a kit, swipe a swab and send it in for testing, its really quite cheap, the other thing is and no I'm not doubting your expertise but could it be mildew, that can appear black, and if that's all it is you can clean it off and repaint or such.

As for the popcorn ceilings...it will have to come down in the living room given, again, water damage but I'll leave it up in the rest of the house.So with all that said, I think my current plan is as follows:1) Main bathroom- fix problems and tile (Has to happen)2) Paint walls/trim throughout (Needs to happen)3) Fix water damage areas (remove popcorn ceiling/repaint // replace laminate floor in damaged area if required) (Needs to happen)4) Move oven (and fridge) in kitchen; re-do countertop as a result; update hardware and faucet if warranted.