Scott has a book on estimating rehab costs: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Estimating-Rehab-Costs...As far as swinging a hammer goes, most home owners traditionally swing a hammer on small projects.

Arm & Hammer sells a product to remove pet odors - it's a powder that you sprinkle on the carpet and then vacuum off.

The purchase price and terms took about a day to hammer out.

I know the cost sucks at first, but ESPECIALLY when friends are involved, hammer out the details now and let a lawyer anticipate any future issues and paper resolutions so there's nothing to fight over later.

Attend the city meetings and get them to do the following:Have the city bury all of the overhead wiring (to do it's part to revitalize the area).Have the city jack hammer all of the quilt work patches and end of service life concrete walks and replace them with new to code modern concrete walks, as well as driveway aprons (to do it's part to revitalize the area).Have the city put in modern curb and gutter, and resurface all of the roads in the neighborhood in new dark black asphalt with nice new white painted lines. 

That’s why I chose the to sign on with a hammer that’s going to fight for me.I owe them something for this.  

I don't think it's something to bring the hammer down on, but it is a good thing to put in your lease as a CYA.

One way to really get your feet wet is to volunteer to 'swing a hammer' for someone on a project they are working on.  

Did you take wood working classes in High School (and like it), have you ever built anything yourself yet (shed, garage, helped out an a hammer swinging rehab, etc...), do come from a construction trades background? 

@Jordan Decuir - the only way to succeed at cold calling is to do what @Taylor Martel did and just hammer away day after day, but as your career gets going you will find that the necessity to cold call is not there.