Focus on key areas first (like floors, walls, kitchen, or bathroom), which may help you handle the costs more gradually, even if it means moving in furniture or updating fixtures down the line.Also, since the tenant left it in rough shape, be sure to document all the damage (photos, receipts) in case you decide to pursue reimbursement through their security deposit or in court.

It all depends on the walls you are hitting.

@Jaron Walling I bought the property for 67K.

These guys operate like flies on the wall.

Jaron Walling said something that caught my attention, "search for and buy a bad roof, leverage it during the negotiation"....especially of the property has been sitting on the market longer than normal for the current market, a "bad roof" might be a gift from the real estate genie.My point is this: get good at estimating and fixing a bad roof (or any particular problem found with most houses that sit on the market longer) and you'll get comfortable buying/fixing properties that scare off other buyers. 

But if you do have a house that sits in expansive soils and are susceptible to shrinking and expanding they can put pressure on the basement walls (exacerbated by frost/thaw cycles) and cause them to crack horizontally.

.: Quote from @Jaron Walling: Follow your lease.

When I subsequently asked the tenant over the phone how many cats she had she said four, which is likely half the number she actually has, but is still a lease violation.At this point I feel like it’s pointless to even ask if the cats are neutered (and therefore less likely to spray urine on walls) because clearly she is willing to lie to me and her attitude seems to be that she makes the rules not me or the lease.

Hey @Chi Lo - I actually have a video on my YouTube page about this (lookup ClosedByMo on YouTube).Regarding walls being damp and waterproofed, it means there needs to be waterproofing on the basement retainer walls (this is something you can do post-construction and the contractors would need to dig around the house exposing the basement/foundation to apply the waterproofing). 

The best defense against rats entering your property is to seal off all entry points (holes, cracks in walls), remove food sources (dirty dishes, food left in trash cans), and water sources (like leaks).