I've done an extensive renovation on a house before (and have a civil engineering degree) and I have a good process for budgeting, so I'm quite confident in my numbers, but time will tell.

Do what the inspector or an engineer recommends and figure it into our offer price.

Now, if your son wants to be an engineer or architect, then that's a different story. 

But, and investor/agent has an advantage because they can use their commission to pad the profit and they have full access to the MLS which is a much more powerful search engine then any other site.

An FHA 203k (or Fannie Mae's companion program "HomeStyle") are (IMHO) great options for buying a fixer.You can write an as-is offer (which may give you some negotiating leverage on a fixer) and finance all of the renovation costs in with the purchase.Your down payment is based on the "acquisition cost", which is the aggregate of the hard and soft construction costs (actual bids + permits + engineering + design +renovation related loan fees).These loans do take some extra leg-work on the front end.

I'm not a structural engineer, but it seems to me that the damage would have to be extensive to cause problems.

I used to be an engineer and now an apt broker.  

Maybe you have a friend who is an engineer and will help you? 

My biggest concern is this line: "Deck stairway and the deck need to be certified by a structural Engineer Or Architect."

Instead, the counter top is engineered using quartz, resins, and pigment.