Chimney flashing is a typical water penetration point, so good idea to eliminate the chimney if you can.

I currently commute from Olathe to downtown everyday, so eliminating that from my life for good will also be a plus!

If I was to refinance and pull out most but not all of my equity, I would be able to eliminate (or more like consolidate) my car and credit card debt and still should have enough to pay back into the house to get rid of the mortgage insurance I'm currently paying.

Deal directly with sellers, eliminate the middleman....... the wholesaler, agents or other amateurs.

Cash speeds the buying process because it eliminates a lot of hassles.

For winter storm events eliminating liability is the goal.

There are other FHA requirements concerning which you should contact your local lender, but determining whether or not a triplex or fourplex meets the self-sufficiency rule is a good place to start as this rule will immediately eliminate many properties from your search.  

Also unfortunate -- your contractor's sealing efforts may have made the problem even worse, since it essentially eliminates dry-out for a slab...  

It reduces/eliminates the possibility of claims of discrimination, and puts real money in your hand.

There will also have to be seasonal maintenance activities such as cleaning of the gutters, emptying water out of the sprinkler systems, etc. to eliminate some of the weather related issues.