If there is room in the budget for a porch I think its an excellent idea but even a small, nice perched awning would add a really nice accent and make the front much more 3D(see attached image below)

The lease itself explicitly states no pets:12.PETS:No dog, cat bird, fish or other pet or animal of any kind may be kept on or about the premises without the Landlord’s written consent.See Pet Addendum.Here is what the Pet Addendum states:THIS AGREEMENT is attached to and made a part of the Florida Residential Lease Agreement dated January 11 , 2015 by and between  xxxxxx(Landlord), and xxxxxxxxxx (Tenant), for the Property located at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.Tenant desires to keep a certain pet described below on the Property and the Florida Residential Lease Agreement specifically prohibits allowing pets on the Property.The Florida Residential Lease Agreement is hereby amended by this Pet Addendum to grant such permission to the Tenant.

I attached an example down below

BreglioCorrect me if I'm wrong but a revocable trust with a trustee other than myself does offer some asset protection in the sense that an abstract of judgment recorded against me personally will not attach to the trust thus allowing me to sell/refinance without dealing with the judgment. 

Take time to respond on forums, make connections with other active members, make those calls, and attend those meetings because no matter what direction you take in real estate each new relationship can easily have a lot of dollar signs attached to it for all involved.Quick info on the deal:My first deal is a 1200 sq/ft Cape Cod I am adding 850 sq/ft to and converting in to a 3bed 2.5 bath colonial.

Please see the attached photos.  

You will also want to check the court systems to see if there are any judgments against current or previous owners that could attach as liens to the property (these often are not recorded in the same way deeds and other liens are).

Attached to this 5 unit building is a mixed use property also for sale (was listed for 47k), it has an apartment upstairs and had a church downstairs.

With prices like that, it's easy to attach a contract assignment fee of a few hundred thousand. 

I will be doing my best to sell myself because I will be attaching a letter about myself and the values I have.