The first house I ever restored had the same issue and I was adamant about keeping that chimney for its aesthetic value. 

Looks the same but a fraction of the cost of buying Restoration Hardware paint for example.

I have been using Clock Shark for about 2 years in my restoration business and have been very happy with it.

I've worked on a historic hotel restoration in the past that used state tax credits from Louisiana.

Fiance has very little desire to share space with tenants, so it looks like we'll be doing SFHs as opposed to multi-families (though I still have hope I can convince her to try it for the first property, but let's assume it's not going to happen).Tentative Plan:-Buy a SFH for $150,000-$200,000 in Phoenix area with a VA loan ($0 down), live in it for 2 years while aggressively forcing appreciation as much as possible, have one or more kids-Buy second SFH for $200,000-$250,000 in Phoenix area (upgrade reason: more space for kids) with another VA loan ($0 down) using remaining entitlement, rent out first SFH, live in this one for 1-2 years while aggressively forcing as much appreciation as possible-Buy third SFH for $200,000-$250,000 with an FHA loan (3.5-5% down), rent out second SFH, live in this one for 1-2 years, not going to try to force appreciation too much right away but instead will spend more time and money building equity in the first two houses-Refinance both VA loans into conventional loans once I have 25%+ equity in both, use the "one time restoration of entitlement" to free up all my entitlement again, rent out third SFH, buy permanent primary residence for as much as I can afford at the time (but not more than the VA maximum) with a VA loan ($0 down) for my now large family to live in forever-Aggressively force appreciation and build equity in third SFH until I can refinance that one into a conventional loan as well to get rid of PMI, then continue on from thereSo, my main concern is affording the second SFH without the necessary two years of landlording experience.

In the remodel and restoration business I worked in for 15 years, I would routinely give free line item estimates to past clients that had actually contracted work with me.

Thanks Jason Eberhardt TMK Restorations  

We did decide to just use "restore" on the cabinets, put on new hardware and install new vinyl plank flooring ourselves.

It seems that 1% would be very reasonable for properties that are nearly turnkey, but the only ones I come up with are in need of major rehab/restoration which makes me question the true end-state - my estimating skills are far too neophyte to tackle a major rehab that close to the margin.  

This has potentially more profit but more risk than (2).  2) Remove illegal addition and restore the original 1300sq ft, return downstairs to original basement and possibly add a garage in the back. 3) Turn it into a multi-unit, and either rent or sell - selling units individually would seem to make most sense (as opposed to renting) but this is higher risk for me as I have not had that kind of experience before.