The loan has recently been transferred to Wells Fargo.

Put paper towels or newspaper around when you flush it to help determine the area of the leak.

Perhaps I am too soft, and I have been burned once or twice, but I can afford to give some slack. 

We are predominantly soft wood here in the northwest.

There are other soft factors like the pain of having construction going on for 3 weeks and of course, losing a part of the living room to the bathroom

Some markets had already gone soft while other will push through until the entire country has turn but eventually, all markets succumb to the macro economy. 

I'd like to go a step up from the chipboard and use something with plywood boxes and soft close drawers if it doesn't blow my budget.

Add backerboard and ceramic tile all over.Would the soft and squishy or the stiff approach work better?

It was my mistake being a soft hearted person; last Sept I accepted a "mom" who claimed she supporting her daughter for college so shes renting a room from me while her daughter staying at dorm.  

The actual hard costs of not evicting immediately weren't necessarily large ($500-1000), but it's the soft costs that hurt me - the eviction wasn't final until Sept 1, which means I didn't complete the rehab until the first week of November.