A new roof under 15k without and structural work, swapping out cabinets, swapping out a hot water heater in kind. 

Maybe I'll swap them over at some point but it seemed in the noise at first.

Or we don't need to do any cleaning, just have them swap personal items, and sign a lease amendment to say the new tenant will be responsible for the rent and damage.

We sold our SFR before buying this beast and basically did a financial swap.  

I appreciate whatever insight you think I should need going into this new area, and would love even more meeting with people just to swap stories and drinks if I do move to Houston.  

This is definitely possible, and if you are handy or have those leanings already I think you'll find it a tall, but potentially rewarding, task.Paint and swapping out light fixtures are among the highest return-on-time-and-hassle things you may consider DIYing. 

$11K for a boiler swap?

To test it I swapped a bulb from the fixture next to it and it worked just fine.

They don't triage service calls and need an electrician to swap a fixture, wall heater or bath exhaust fan.

Since it was a countertop microwave, I only had to remove one piece of trim to make the swap.