The downstairs people told my friend that they have only seen him leave once in a year and that day it took him a long time to traverse the stairs.

plumber replace all old iron or brass water supply pipe and aging shutoff valvesplumber replace the lead water main and main water shutoff valve and repair or replace it as necessaryPro-active replacement of these old heating systems with new units.Have a qualified contractor modify the stair railings to ensure they are safe and comply with modern standards.

:)2) On the walls going up the stair way to the 2nd floor they had taken broken glass and embedded them into a layer of mortar in the walls.

Ben SkoveIf you are going paint the floor, check to see if it is "level enough" first that it can be finished w/o the need for a coat of self-leveller ... as cement does not bound well to a painted floor.We are dealing with a painted floor at the moment - the vendor thought he was doing us a favour and painted it battleship grey prior to close.

If it's ugly, I would sooner have it painted and I hear the kits are actually pretty good, but it depends on the setup there and what you really need/what the situation is.It might be cheaper to carpet the stairs than to restain them and get them to match the rest of the flooring.Lumber Liquidators runs crazy deals on laminate and it is NOT HARD to learn how to do.  

People living there but not paying), the possible cost and time for an eviction, the turnover costs (no matter how well they might have kept the place if they have been there since 2007 there will be work needed) and even if they leave without hassle the likelihood of having at least 1-2 months of vacancy in that 2nd floor unit (unless you get it nice fast and show it while you are living in it in December).All of this to avoid walking up a flight of stairs?

Croix does have is own quarry so concrete/cement are not to outrageous in pricing. 

Lots of desert props with wooden footers to the ground, not even cement piers.

I don't have photos, but there was one house where the stairs to get to the third floor bedrooms were only accessible through a door that was inside the second floor bathroom.

I really like the 2 or 3 bedroom's that have no stairs.