Is this cheap?

It ain't cheap, but worth its weight in gold when passing on a deal is not an option! 

Im not sure about other mortgage servicers however, most that I've read on their guidelines to remove PMI including from the mortgage company I work at currently are below (Fannie & Freddie conventional):- when you reach 80% of the ORIGINAL purchase value you can request to remove PMI however a  BPO (brokers price opinion aka cheap & dirty version of a regular appraisal)  will be needed to verify the property did not decrease in value- If you've done improvements (sounds like your story) you can request a BPO to verify your loan is at 80% of current market value (ARV) which can go from regular BPO price of 150-175 dollars up to regular appraisal if interiors need inspection as well (interior & exteriors = regular appraisal 450-550).- if the loan is atleast 2 years old (paid on time of course) and not more than 5 years old the borrower can request a BPO if the borrower believes the value has increased enough based on market value alone to remove MI but the requirement for this market value only increase is 75% LTV or lower based on the current BPO (so in essence you need 25% equity on current FMV - fair market value).- for the above 3 scenarios payments must be current with no 30 day lates in the past 12 months or 60 day lates in the past 24 months (on the current mortgage or "other," credit too)What is interesting is the above only applies to 1 unit properties because 2-4 unit properties its the same as the above except the requirement is 35% equity or 65% LTV (same).

I've always used stainless sinks because they're simple/nice looking/cheap.

Cheap buy and holds- You might think they are cheap what can go wrong?

And with every passing day, my dream of doing this on the CHEAP is growing weaker and weaker.

It is cheap and should a title issue come up you will not be out your entire purchase price.  

Paint and paper, fine.What I have been finding is that the real estate market here is heated to the point where this is easier said than done.Are other Atlanta investors finding the market too hot to handle, or am I jus too cheap?

If it is not in a flood zone, I personally would get flood insurance as it will be cheap, just for the peace of mind as most of the area is low.I will be following this thread closely and hopefully others chime in.  

Spray foam in the exterior walls is an option and its pretty cheap.