Contractors and developers where building spec homes left and right and not waiting for someone to buy them first before building because they would get sold the second they where finished.

In the past year, we started a renovation to add the second bathroom but ran out of funds (this is an attic conversion and our contractor was way low in his estimate).

Spend some of it and enjoy the fruits of your labor.Hope I didn't cloud the decision even more.

But that is because I had my contractor walk the site with me and determine what we would be doing. 

I'm looking for a contractor to give me an estimate on the property. 

What steps does my contractor need to take to ensure water damage is properly addressed to avoid future problems, and how do I follow up from out of state to ensure these steps are being implemented?

I am pretty handy and plan on doing a lot of the easier work myself, and I may try to get my contractor’s license (apparently very easy to get in NJ) to make things a bit easier as far as permits are concerned. 

I will probably take a trip out there to meet with contractors and get ideas on repairs. 

I knew nothing about the basics of real estate and after confiding in my dad that this is what I wanted to do he pointed me to Bigger Pockets, which I then learned by all the educational tools that not only can I do what I know I would love and enjoy doing but that it will give me a life I'd want for myself and my family that no other job could do for me. 

They have some great hard money and contractor referrals.