(Their drapes were drawn and Venetian blinds closed shut. 

Luckily I have a friend who does design/build for restaurants to help at least guide me on the basic steps for the renovation so I am not flying entirely blind there.  

@Caleb HeimsothSeems like every local meet up is just some stupid sales pitch and most if not all attendees are just blind cattle that pay money to every guru who promises them riches!

Many taxpayers subject to the AMT did not receive any benefit for state taxes paid, or only a partial benefit, in the year paid, and so their 1099-G amount would not be included in income, or only partially included in income, in the year the refund was received.It will be a similar story for those in the situation that you describe.Tax preparers, if they're not lazy, should not blindly pick up the 1099-G amount as income but should go back to determine exactly how much benefit the taxpayer received for state taxes paid. 

Anyone who pays that much ahead should not pass the 'sniff test' and instead should have your BS detector throwing off blinding red lights.

Broken screens and blinds - damage. 

this is the crux of trying to buy property blindly...

Every window is photographed up close to show presence of screen and if there are window dressings or blinds, I take a photo with them open and closed.If there is a problem (scrape on the wall, carpet stain, etc.) then I take a good close-up.

After talking to them yesterday and giving them several options  (including the eviction and the ramifications to their credit and such) and getting inside the property (which surprisingly is in great shape.. just a couple of blinds are messed up)  the tenant changed their tune and even apologized.  

Being very organized will help you with your costs, but personally after organizing the job and timelines I try not to go cheap in my experience you just end up paying double in the long run.4) My best advice don't go running into this venture blind.