I assume that I can take possession (change locks etc) and perform structural repairs sufficient to bring it back to habitable standards but my question is does that include sprucing up the property itself ie tree trimming grass cutting and the like to maintain neighborhood norms?

If they need to be trimmed so they don't rub the roof, that should cost a lot less. 

@Douglas SpenceYes and many other inspection items such as cracked window pane, paint the outside, changing a perfectly fine toilet supply line, changing a perfectly fine p-trap, trimming trees, etc.

I would have skipped the rock wall, water feature, combo W/D and trimmed the counter on the peninsula.  

As far as DIY, painting will be tedious and time consuming, but if you break up the trim and the rolling between two people, it could take you a couple of days to paint a whole place, and it will save you a ton of money.

I would never paint brick in my area due to all the moisture and humidity, but I think I could even stain the brick a nice grey color for fairly cheap and repaint trim white for some nice contrast.

-Fix in the following order, some steps can be combined.    2.1 Foundation    2.2 Roof    2.3 Electrical    2.4 Plumbing    2.5 AC    2.6 Exterior Painting or Siding Work and Windows    2.7 Drywall, Texture Paint.    2.8 Flooring and any tile work.    2.9 Doors, Trims.    2.10 Install all fixtures.    2.11 Install or Refinish Kitchen Cabinets.List and SellRepeat

A few of the challenges we had to face on this project were: keeping the historic exterior paint color, white with unique teal trim.

We also painted all the walls, doors, and trim.

Completely redid flooring, painted inside and out, new appliances, fixtures, fans, doors back fence, added back porch, trimmed trees.