Arrange for professional cleaning of the HVAC system, ducts, carpets, walls, woodwork, cabinets, windows, blinds, appliances, etc.

New carpet, vinyl, paint, repairs, likely new appliances, window blinds, etc. 

We will have invested around $90,000 in it on rehab when finished, so that brings it to $208,000. ( New sewer, new windows, new HVAC, retaining wall, hardwood floors, carpet, driveway, etc. ) According to an appraiser, a contractor / home builder friend of mine, and a realtor, the home will be worth $360,000, give or take, when we get it finished in a few months.

If you are the successful bidder and their are tax liens, you either try to get the lien waived or you wait for 120 days before you go putting in new carpet on the place!

Maybe the carpet is a different color where the sofa was.The existing tenant may not actually move out on the day they said they would.

The rules of thumb below generally works with houses between 1000-2000 sqft: (in more expensive markets these rules don't work)Cosmetics (paint, carpet) - $5,000Remodel kitchen & bathroom - $10,000HVAC + new AC condenser - $5,000Replace roof and sidings - $10,000Update electrical and plumbing - $6,000Then you can add a 20% buffer on the total repair estimate based on these rules of thumb.ONLY use these rules of thumb when prescreening properties.

From the "paint and carpet" cosmetic rehabs to a house we are finishing up now that was a 200yr old log cabin that required us to catch the top story of the home with industrial steel i-beams and remove the entire bottom half of the house and rebuild it from the footers up.

There were multiple times when I was living there during the four years that there was a water leak and caused damage to the apartment and dampened the carpet.

Casa Blanca for granite, Jeff Clyburn for Windows, Jordy Garcia for Sheetrock/drywall/paint, lumber1 for carpet and install, Dan Broughton for home inspections, Darryl Ellington for repairs

For example cat pee can indicates the need to replace carpet and even possibly walls or sub-floor.