We also noticed throughout the renovation that water was getting into the basement and we had to re-pour cement along the back side of the house and slop the grade away from the house this alone was an extra $3K expense.

My husband says he trusts me and supports me (knowing that I am the financially savvy one in the family), but he is a quite pessimistic given that he is a police officer and only sees the worst in people (think tenants pouring cement down the toilet, taking the water heater with them when they leave, or landlord/tenant eviction calls).

The high density polyurethane as mentioned in the other posts is much lighter than a cement/mud mixture making it less likely to cause additional settlement due to the weight, another benefit is that it expands and compresses the soil underneath it to a certain degree.

There are five doorways into the kitchen- to the living room, to the dining room, to the basement stairs and driveway access, to the powder room and to the mudroom with backyard/deck access. 

If you look at a plan of the 1st and 2nd floor, it may look like you have 2 stairs, but the reality is it's the same stair on both plans.  

Are there back outside service stairs to the basement?

Flatwork: 3800, new front stairs and side stairs yard stairs & drainage culvertCarport/garage hybrid: 5400-8500Convert front doors to 1 door: 3000Carpentry finishes and trim: 4000Appliances: 5000So that puts us in 150-170k range on rehab.

There is no elevator to success in real estate .. everyone has to take the stairs

They made the seller paint the garage door, replace a screen door and a banister at the top of the stairs.

They will fail a home for peeling paint, wobbly handrails, cracked glass, crumbly cement steps and that sort of thing.