Now with a blank canvas I got my contractors together and painted the picture.

There are usually some minimum services like painting and house cleaning, but if additional renovation or maintenance is required, that will add to the price.

I would think and assess if it actually needs a new kitchen (if there are cabinets there already just old, can you paint them and put new knobs on)?

My suggestion: buy a quality small MF that needs paint and carpet, even that is difficult enough if you are remote!

Well, the contractor's price was ridiculous, retail or more. 380-400 a sq for a roof, 4k to paint the interior of a 1200 swqft house., 2k labor to install a furnace, just nuts, so we pulled the plug.

I can do all the basic things like lawn maintenance, snow removal, painting etc, and some electrical and plumbing.

The sq ft price also doesn't matter because a 1500sq ft 3/1 and a 1000sq ft 3/1 will have roughly the same kitchen cost and the extra 500 sq ft is generally the cheapest part of the rehab with paint and flooring 

If trimmed, are you looking at solid finish Oak or basic 1x trim to paint?

Find outdated units and add great rental value with paint, new light fixtures, smart locks, etc. 1B. 

The side where he lived just needs paint and flooring.