Years ago, I lived on the outskirts of town, and when I'd drive my VW Bus into town. there was an old man in a black wool coat (it could be 100 outside, still the same) he had long gray hair (he looked like a character on Laugh In) and he'd be hitchhiking.

She also has cleaning tips to get ready for the inspection.In the future, before you do your C of O's make sure you either replace your windows (that's what I do) or just paint all your windows with a good thick coat of three of paint.

How many coats do they think it will need?

If the hardwood in the laundry area is in decent shape, I would just "screen sand" it and apply a couple of coats of WaterLox clear finish.

Floors need refinishing, carpet needs replacing, fresh coat of paint, couple spots in roof leak on the exterior (possibly flashing needs replacing in 2 spots).Sellers is in pre-foreclosure and just wants out without going into BK.  

A painter is going to charge you ~500/coat on the cabinets.  

Combine that with some YouTube videos and there won't be much you can't accomplish by yourself (depending on your level of skill for swinging a hammer).You can pretty much count on new flooring, fresh coat of paint inside and out, new lighting, and remodeled / updated kitchens and bathrooms.

I grew up in Des Moines but I live in Denver, Co at the moment.  

Owners trying to rehab themselves often don't know little tricks such as adding a spoonful of dish soap to their mud to help eliminate air bubbles (and thereby, an additional coat), or that the process of coalescence in exterior paint is negatively affected by an ambient and/ or surface temperature below 50 degrees.Being from Cleveland, unfortunately I can't much help with the Milwaukee area.

Didn't cost me a dime and now we're saving another 155/month.Spent about 8k on new stucco siding on my home. 2 coats of stucco over wire mesh, plus a 3rd coat of MasterWall (latex product with color).