The less you touch them, the longer the finish will last.Here's a link to someone that painted the same type of cabinets, and added hardware, so you can visualize how it will look.

I need some insight on the steps from concept to the financial proposal to a lender, I understand that I need to compile together a complete cost of construction analysis etc. but what about visual concepts?

You always want to keep a contrast as it is visually more appealing.

During this inspection by the engineer, no soil tests, elevation readings or calculations were completed as it was just a visual inspection. 

I use Canva for visually appealing templates.

Being as $2000 is the denominator in the equation the analysis spits out a crazy IRR of 174.25% The visual at the bottom showing the Year 1 - 30 returns shows a year 1 equity of ~$2500.

My two big limitations at the moment are (1) lack of general real estate experience and (2) handy-ness (I'm not going to be installing a countertop anytime soon and contractors are hard to come by here, so buying a SFH and doing a reno myself are unlikely).

You see a positive number and think...hey, this is a deal.Here are the many, many problems I see before you even give us more details -- and I've shown this visually on the attached pictures.  

Suffice it to say that any gas utilization equipment found to produce elevated/unsafe levels of carbon monoxide in flue gas is normally considered sufficient grounds by the gas company to shut-off gas to the property in addition to 'red' tagging gas utilization equipment responsible until such time the condition is addressed and no longer considered a threat to the life and safety of the building occupants.CO Poisoning Goes Virtually Undetected in a Professional Office EnvironmentIt's a cold, sunny Saturday afternoon in February and I've been given a reprieve in the weather thereby allowing me to use an outdoor scissor lift to safely access/observe a flat roof 24-foot above the finish grade (pertaining to the property for which I have been hired to conduct a PCA) without having to contend with rain/snow and below freezing outdoor air temperatures preventing a visual inspection of the roof much less conduct a higher level due diligent assessment of package rooftop units since gloves cannot be worn as they tend to interfere in attempting to access hidden system components such as air filter elements, blower fan motor assemblies, serpentine tube heat exchangers, etc. typically concealed from view in conducting a baseline PCA.

This way they can visually see where all the money is going and how much of it they have to bring to the table.