Is it even necessary in neighborhoods such as this where most of the garages are very old wooden structures behind the houses?

Thanks, but I don't believe VCT is a good choice over a dubious substrate, nor on the stairs where the old wooden treads are flexing and the tile joints are taking beating.

Maybe from a tiny local lender but never from larger lenders.

We were considering making updates to the master bathroom that still has the original layout from 40 years ago when the home was first built (its TINY!

In other states the lien holder can just foreclose assuming you can fund the cost to force a foreclosure.Liens are tiny relatively speaking.

So the strategy seems to be buying 100 liens at low or no interest and maybe a tiny fraction don't get redeemed and you have a huge windfall by acquiring the property. 

(Yes, I know that REI is a job, at least until you are a fully automated big dog, and I know that I'll be starting off with tiny streams... but where do you think the Amazon and the Mississippi start?

I also recognize that the vast majority of PM/realtors that are on here (which is a tiny percentage of the overall) are the exception that proves the rule.I was speaking as one (smaller) self-manger to another.

My wife and I are currently living in a TINY apartment with our 1 year old baby girl, and are expecting another.

I have some tiny baths and we have mounted wall cabinets to make up the vanity space and used pedestal sinks for a less tight entry, So if you lose a vanity you need somewhere to put stuff.