Back house has access from an alley with a parking pad and carport.

When you pushed back they offered a discount.They should be doing it at their cost, or very close to it.The fact, they are offering discounts, indicates to me they are padding the repair costs, somewhere.

Dave Ramsey gives a lot of solid advice, but in many areas he teaching you to drive with the emergency brake on.

I am seeing quite a few do this practice of what seems "padding the numbers".

Surface- Rock or hard surface (concrete/asphalt);If on rock/asphalt put your tongue leg or stabilizer pads on widerpads to spread the weight out.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/meggentaylor/2018/04/27/the-best-and-worst-cities-to-make-money-on-airbnb/#3375e7fb2aa7 Here’s a Forbes article that brakes it down by the numbers.

Though I’d rather not generalize, I am qualified to say that many property managers pad contractor estimates in order to make extra income when managing investor properties. 

VCT is so durable it can have a second life as subfloor.You can install padding/carpet directly over it.

These people have Police RAP sheets bigger then you lawyer archive, for them to brake into your house and get arrested is like for you crossing street in unmarked location.

Is there other ways to brake into real estate investment?