I breakdown my budgets by Category (Roofing, Siding, Painting, Electrical, etc.) 

Nobody ever tests for lead-based paint in homes built before 1978, because once you test you have to disclose.

And everyone wants to go to HD and buy Behr paint because consumer reports says it’s the best.

I invested about $4000 in paint, tile, repairs etc to get it ready to be shown.

If you are just painting and replacing carpet, you still need to move into the home within 60 days of buying. 

I started my OOS HML  career in Detroit and that was 2002 and WOW coming from our area what an education I got.. my clients that were doing turnkey at the time and all the buyers were out of state ( basically LA based) the local on the ground operator was very good he had all sorts of tricks to try to keep the houses safe.. the one i really liked was painting the copper pipes grey so thieves would not steal them..

Just the other day I saw someone had used black sheet rock screws in the hangers on a brand new deck (non-permitted obviously, and not a single lag or any flashing on the ledger board, and they painted it immediately before the pressure treated lumber had even dried out so that’s going to peal in the first year, at about the same time that those sheetrock screws start to rust lol). 

Floor is going in, paint is mostly done, then trim and doors.

We are attempting to get an eviction date, but could not pass a lead paint inspection because the weather is so cold in Cleveland that the paint will not dry.

Replaced both toilets with brand new ones, replaced the 2 car- garage door with a brand new one, had all the walls freshly painted, put brand new baseboards in, and had the kitchen cabinets painted as well.