New plants I put in back in October all wilted due to lack of water.

Yes John, another good approach, people that couldn't sell and ended up renting to move, estate deals, see who retires at the plant maybe the spouse has been taking care of the properties, tie landlords to those events in life that motivate them to sell, otherwise you're spinning your wheels. :)

Warren Buffet once said something along the lines of farmers need not understand the bio-chemistry of the photosynthesis process to grow corn, nor do they need to check the corn 14 times a day, they need only to plant it and take reasonable care to ensure it's in an environment where it can grow.

Also, the tub finish has some texture to it so no need for bathmats.As Rob K mentioned, the stuff stinks.

You'll want to spray the ceiling with the MOMS too if the ceiling is textured or stucco.  

If youre trying to get it done under 20K it all adds up really quick.If the garage doesnt pan out and this is in a smaller town where mobile homes are permitted, you could plant a decent one on the lot for near the 20K and get $500 -$600 with the garage.

We also are adding land to our orchards and so a great deal of money is required to plant hundreds of trees on each lot we buy.

I would limit the exterior work to pressure washing the exterior and painting the front door in a warm earth tone color.Maybe you could dress up the front porch area with a few potted plants, and 2 cherry stained wooden chairs with throw pillows or something.

Just adding thickness won't block the entire listening frequency spectrum, surface textures can help too, look to studio construction, it should explain the frequency ranges and standards as well as textures in design.....find an audio engineer.Why not ask the neighbor not to put the dog along that wall.

Might have to plants a few hops in the garden.