You can't go off of the cost estimate on permits and even beyond that, design, site work and a number of other factors will play a significant role in costs.

Notes I have not played in that sandbox for years..

I had a rather complicated RE play I was doing in 2012 and of course financing was still non existent I sent a basic concept plan they looked at it for about 3 days and came back and said hey we like it just need 10k to move forward..

If one has to take care of other family members, then that adds another level of stress and complexity.If someone is on their own and wants to gamble, sure, some will take a shot.

Its defiantly a good idea to do as much due diligence as you can on the seller if you are looking at doing a partial or a note fund.If it goes non-performing you need to make sure you can trust the person who will be responsible for getting the note re-performing and you need to understand the contract so you understand how the event of a non-performer should play out.I would definitely put Chris in the upper echelon of note investors based on my research and experience. 

This could play a role in which unit you decide to occupy. good luck 

It could be an easy fix like this or a bigger problem depending on the factors at play (are the joists accessible, will it mess anything else up if you just jack it up and reinforce, is there water damage or structural damage to the foundation causing the sag instead of just old joists, anything else going on like a supporting wall or posts under the floor, wiring or plumbing runs involved etc.).

When James moved into the master, he complained about Steve playing music too loud.

How can you play into it where you can use the 80/20 rule or 80/10/10 rule?

Don't play with senior money like a junior.