It brushes up with some rough areas but given its strong Italian Heritage, the town does a good job of keeping the unwanted out. 

The other thing is I think the market went a little soft in May compared to April.  

By the time you pay for soft costs such as soils engineering, architectural design services, structural engineering, title 24 and permits plus construction costs it just won't be worth the head aches and even then it is a very time consuming effort.

Educate your self on the pros and cons of finding financing from soft or private lenders who are usually less stringent and more flexible than the HMLsGood luck .

So, Ill hire carpenters and "buy my time back".I'm a former HVAC guy - I can solder pipes, hard and soft solder, but no good at sheet metal.

That way there's no having to deal with soft or hard money and refinancing.  

Two guys with chainsaws and a truck came and cut all the firewood out of the fallen tree and then I just had to make several trips with my truck to haul the brush to a composting facility.

If so, maybe you can get in with as little as $14k (+soft costs), so maybe your debt service is in the ballpark of $1.6k/mo.

I had typed up some soft sell postcards I mail out for specific events like move outs, foreclosure notices,  vacant homes, etc.  

Speak softly but carry a big stick?