The biggest shave I have seen on soft costs are using a 3rd-party permit runner to maybe save like $5k.  

One member shaves his beard off, he goes before elders for the offense and another member speaks for him, that speaker is not an attorney nor must he be, the prosecution is not by a government entity in a recognized court of law. 

I represented us as our agent in the deal and should have know that these tract style homes built in the 90's have a high probability of polybutylene plumbing.

The foam on top may look appealing, but the substance is maybe hidden a bit lower in the glass ;)

Originally posted by @Donald S.:Have

Tenants, particularly students and young professionals, seem to be almost incapable of cleaning tile and you will eventually have ugly, stained grout lines.We still put soaker tubs and tile surrounds in our higher end rentals, but are doing so for the aesthetics.When we do use a 3-5 piece tub-surround, we never put them directly on the framing, but alway use a backer - rigid foam/rock board/mould resistant sheetrock - to prevent the surround from warping.

The only other exception is the government.The reason that monetary policy isn't historically hyper-inflationary and front-loaded in its effects is because it essentially shaves the most competitive edge of the capital stack, puts a price premium on it, and advances the next round of bank reserves to be loaned out at lower interest rates. 

I refinanced into a 20 year (shaving off 4 years of payments), removed PMI, rate is 3.125%, "flipped the script" on principal and interest payments, and overall my payment went down $80 per month.

This shaves time off the rehab and helps you work out scheduling and any unforeseen items before even owning the property.

Cheers Your post should be required reading for newbies who foam at the mouth with anticipation at the prospect of buying cheap,  crappy homes in crappy neighborhoods that look great on paper.