During due diligence the buyer came up with a bunch of Mickey Mouse stuff on the inspection and re-traded for a hundred grand.

So, instead of making my attic pimp pad, the idea in my head right now is try to finish the basement for $7-8000 and rent it out for $5-600 a month, putting my ROI just under 1.5 years,(and my personal cost of housing at $0) at which point, will be the 2 year mark on the property, and the house will then have a finished basement, which will demand more rent at that point ($1400 instead of $1000-1100).

The most effective and most humane thing I can recommend is old-fashioned spring-loaded mouse traps.

Some carpets won't show pet accidents or stains, but it takes one minute to pull the carpet away from the wall to see damage to the pad or flooring.

- List it on the MLS - Re-key - Turn on all utilities in my name - Pull up the carpet and padding if any (this is the cocktail for me, it's more ceremonial than anything. - Start pre-op demo (make sure pre-plannning is still viable) - Bring lockable trailer pod with any materials/installs - Take several deep breaths

all good posts. i am a home inspector here in the western new york area. i am a rather small man, 5 ft 8, 180 pounds, so, as you can imagine, i can fit into spots that even a mouse would fear to go. it gives me a distinct advantage in doing home inspections. i can agree with your concerns. if there were multiple areas of interest missed in the inspection, that is the fault of the inspector. if there areas that were covered with insulation, personal items, etc that items could have been safely moved, then the inspector should have moved them, especially in areas of major concerns such as plumbing or heating areas. personally, if i look under a sink and see personal items blocking what i want to look at, i am gonna move them. the personal items are not as important as what i may find, plain and simple. in a house i know is going to be rehabbed, i am going to pull back insulation that is blocking what i want to see. the owner is probably going to tear out that piece of insulation anyway. crawl spaces???

Ideally there is a shorthand or ballpark method I could use on my own at this preliminary stage to avoid excessive spending on padded research fees.

Right now I have mostly long-term infrastructure but since I can't fill the pads and now I'm trying to decide when I should consider finding the money to put in enough stuff (pool, better pads, clubhouse, etc.) to get vacationers. 

You don't need a Formula 1 engine builder to change your brake pads. 

my favorite was in the Alaska Air board room in PDX one EARLY morning.. the sign in for the room is a finger print then your name pops up on a I pad like device. lady behind me says are you the Jay from BP..