They had already put in new flooring and paint and all that. 

You may wish to move to an area where the type of friends you associate with will appear to fit in better, or choose better quality friends that do not reflect as poorly on you.

We would do the painting, tiling, cabinets, trim, granite, and hardware installing ourselves to save money.

Better to have fixed rate long term debt.Which direction you choose to go on your refinance really depends on your risk tolerance.   

In the next three years, I made several improvements—removed the asbestos/popcorn ceiling, added some can lighting, updated a few light fixtures and faucets, and bought a new stove, as well as painting the whole place myself.

Flooring, counter tops, cabinet doors, hardware, and paint chips and some things I can't even identify.Anyone have some good methods for dealing with this madness?

On the other hand, if it’s an all cash purchase, you can choose whether or not to get an appraisal. 

You can always choose to live in one place but invest in another, where the #s make more sense. 

He has done little things like painting and big projects like converting a storage room to a studio apartment.

And there are a few other key development/operational details I choose to not divulge.