The only thing they did that would have been maintenance was paint the bedrooms and living/dining room. 

We moved the kitchen to the dining room, opened up the wall and created a master suite from where the old kitchen stood. 

I have a larger kitchen that could also be considered with a living space (Kitchen/dining area). 

The other problem is some remnant knob and tube wiring that supplies one outlet in the dining room and the overhead wires to the unattached garage.  

I figure the landlord is responsible for common areas external to the apartment (hallways, entryway etc) but common areas within the apartment (living room, dining room, kitchen,bath) should be shared responsibilty of tenants.

You may be able to upgrade out of that delay.I have not found a more elegant solution yet.Good luck

Just groceries, not dining)Utilities: $141.12 (4.78%) in this category I have phone bill, gym, Netflix, and phone insurance.Rent: $500 (16.92%) I split rent with my girlfriend and this includes my portion of gas, sewer, pud.Transportation: ~$340 (11.51%) This is car insurance and gas.

install a fire sprinkler system, a firewall between kitchen/living room/dining room with the sleeping area, an emergency escape door in the sleeping area, handicapped bathrooms.

It's certainly not as elegantly simple as "1031, 1031, Die" ;) Maybe I'll need to trawl through some other threads to see in anyone here is using this technique...Thanks for the feedback - always happy to get your take!

I hate to use cash, but if push comes to shove we could just buy it.Anyone ever come up with an elegant or easy way to do this?