I gave a soft pitch of my abilities and asked her to give me a chance.

I have a soft spot for old Victorians in nice areas.

You can easily make broad brush assumptions about smokers and non-smokers and most of them are true.  

I'd give no dollar amount to it, as you know it's soft costs of legal and filing fees.I've seen subs with end lots, second phase at 100K with the entry lots sold first at 20K.

Brush up on code requirements: in basements you're looking for egress windows that are 5.7 sq feet or more openable (3ft by 3ft casement style windows work best), and ceiling heights 6ft 8 inches or greater (as little as 6 ft 4 inches is ok under ductwork and beams though)3.

In urban areas, it is soft for sure, affecting the rental market, condos and higher end properties.   

I'm not interested in stockpiling soft assets like mutual funds and bonds.

So when you start slinging a paint brush and/or swinging a hammer, you are working for free unless you pay yourself an hourly or per-the-job wage at market rates. 

In general I find that painting any group with a broad brush is counterproductive and a waste of time.

CapRates are really "soft" numbers since they're reported.