Then I helped friends or people who I was recommended to with basic remodel suggestions while staying up to code.

I could also argue that building costs and building codes change over time.

One was the steps were a few inches off of code in height, and the railing broke when the guy fell. 

The requirement is that the house meet habitability standards, and building code standards say a house must be pest free to be habitable.

The other thing to consider is the age and if you add a second floor will the entire structure need to be brought up to code for hurricane and wind.I live in a neighborhood where the homes are older (not in florida) and the foundations are hollow core CMU and adding a second floor would not be feasible due to soil bearing.

You won't find them on zillow or MLS.Direct marketing, driving for dollars, probate, foreclosure, divorce, code violations, dilenquent taxes, owner in jail etc.These are ways to find way below market price deals with little to no competition. 

- You can find this out by going to Zillow, selecting your Zip code or Neighborhood, and looking at current rental listings.

This has become increasingly problematic  with rising material costs and more burdensome building codes now present in most municipalities. 

My property is in the Homewood/Vestavia area...35216 area code. 

Despite being nearly 60,000 SF of land, strict adherence to the zoning code would only allow 7 homes because the parcels lacked street frontage despite being very deep.