If you think about it, its kinda crazy that a thick slab of concrete could be higher or lower in different spots.

Depending how you are raised or have "thick skin" that allows you to hold back from always being honest with the seller about your intention or profit.I know about this because of my experience and knowledge in real estate and construction in residential and commercial property.

In the Houston area we have thick clay soil which expands and contracts due to weather cycles.As far as Mother Nature - well, at least we get several days notice for Hurricanes on the coastal areas.  

Also some engineered floors have a thick enough wear layer that you can sand and refinish them.

The original linolium flooring is curling up a little at the edges in the kithen entries and there are a couple of room length cracks in the ceiling sheet rock (less than an eight inch thick).

Our budget here is the same.Once all the internal bits are done we will reside the building - and are planning to add another 1" of polyisocyanurate hardboard insulation {which will require removing and resetting the windows we just installed to adjust for the new wall thickness ... a little rework that we have not found a way to avoid {yet}]Once all the above has been completed, we will conduct our "post retrofit" energy audit to see if we hit our target of scoring 75+ out of 100 with fewer than 3 air changes per hour.As you stated, the long term goal is to keep our buildings attractive to tenants by making them healthy, efficient and modern (while retaining their historic charm) homes as energy costs rise.

I'm just thinkin' hard if I want to chisel a 1+foot thick brick wall to install outside venting.

And yes, the granite is full thickness (1-1/4").

Some I sold in 2006 for 20,000 might get 3-5000 now.Hidden Valley has lots of lots available but not many are buildable due lack of sewers and the soil may be only a few inches thick over rock.  

I'd advise him to bring a thick note pad.