I assume the buyers wife was pleased as she probably appreciated the age & condition of the absconded appliances.Worst one was many years ago when the evicted tenants went to the trouble of draining the furnace oil tank into 5 gall containers. 

I would also look at removing the oil heat system and converting to gas with 2 separate meters.

I will wait until the Fed slows down the rate hike and/or continue to restart QE and/or oil price goes back to pre-covid level ($80).Sometimes the best  I can do is just to wait until the weather is getting better.Thing is we don't know til what level the 30YFRM going to settle, it could be 5%,6% or 8% , the higher the rate obviously has impact on house pricing and disposable income.

I grabbed some Murphy oil soap but now I’m reading mixed reviews.

Going to be difficult to solve a supply side (labor/oil/materials) problem with a demand side solution. 

I've spent the last 14 years of my career in oil and gas, and I am looking to pivot my career into real estate in addition to continuing to do flips.

Killz or oil based paint.  

Sorry you missed out on that deal, but no worries because if we have protracted lower oil prices the Houston market  you may present some even better opportunities.Jake, my daughter stayed in Kingwood last summer and it was quite nice...the largest masterplanned community in Houston.  

If your heat is oil, also figure what it costs when the oil is cheap and expensive. 

Knock off the high gloss with a light/medium grit sanding sponge, tack all the dust, light coat of poly (oil is nice but stinks, water based works well too but doesn't level quite as easy as oil), let it dry for a *couple* of days (forget about the couple hours the can says), fine grit sponge it, tack it, second coat.