I would think that he could benefit from at least a couple of books, that expose him to investor lingo and concepts, to help augment or further cement what he is learning from you. 

You don't want to face cement poured into a toilet or worse.

The backyard has some broken cement surface (about half) and some dirt.

.$30 sq/ft-carpet, paint, blinds, cosmetics, bathrooms, kitchen, roof, cement work, etc.So basically he grades the property 123 (abc) and the applies the cost per sq/ft to the total square footage of the property.Does anyone else use a similar method to help them save time analyzing deals and focus on deals that look more appealing?

He had his handyman: Touchup/cement all the wall areas with any cracks/holesPainted the basement white (professional sprayer used)Any exterior cement walls got UGL Drylock just in caseAdded extra lighting (3-4K LED bulbs are great) so it makes the whole space now feel 'light and bright' and not a scary, dark dungeonAdded coin-op laundry x2 (washers and dryers, 2 sets). 

Aside from that, and the largest issue is they are making us replace the entryway cement steps because the risers are .75" too tall.

I'm a builder and do this often. without floor covering this is fairly simple. a walk behind concrete saw can be rented 100$ or so. the Cutting takes 20 min then break out the concrete (No jack hammer required). install conduit and a couple bags of cement mix and your done. if your cutting into old tile that you need to match I wouldn't do it. contractor would be making good money at 500$ in my market

thank you all so much for your input.it seems i am having water in the basement only when it rains and after 3-4 days it dries up. how can i or the plumber check whether the water is coming from the ground or from the walls or from the backyard ( which is half cemented ) ?

I have placed tiles, sheetrock, done painting and cement work, some electrical and plumbing. 

If you have it all demoed put cement board around the tub/ shower  surround and where ever else you are putting tile.