That said I was told I would need to own the property, have an engineer report with soil samples, structural plans and at least two hearings to re-zone and build.

Account Closed  just like Memphis has city and county tax.. or that Texas rates are through the roof and has expansive soils... or?????  

By way of an analogy, it's easier to rake the soil smooth on your path rather than to break up each clump as you trip over it.My $0.02 ...

We painted the entire thing, tore out the carpet, refinished the beautiful pine/oak floors underneath (These floors turned out GREAT, they are by far my favorite floors I've ever redone), painting the cabinets, adding new flooring in bathroom and kitchen, subway tile surround, new lighting, new garage roof and staging.All in all I am happy with the way it turned out.

They are reaching end of life on their soil lines. 

Underneath the extension is an outdoor "alley" walkway from the front yard to the backyard--i.e., there is nothing solid underneath this extension. 

@Shawn HolsappleThank you will check into it, never really heard of it.I would assume it has the same wear layer as laminate, but the layers underneath are rubber, to handle water better.

A land's value is more about traffic counts,site development costs,utility hookups,topography,zoning,soil analysis,etc. then asking price.

It's best to get the county to do a soil analysis which should be a requirement. 

So count on fees with town, excavator cost, and soil scientist for one whole day would be my best guess.