My property values are low, in the 40s, so no one wants to touch them for a typical refi. 

We've received some quotes but they are all over the board and vary $7k between the low and high bids.

From what I see online, there seems to be a lot of low hanging fruit in those 2 states.

if so $15K seems low to me.

if one has a good friend that is in the contracting business, able to do a lot of the renovations himself. what kind of partnership proposal would entice someone like that to maybe provide renovation at a very low cost?

Unfortunately, the listing has multiple bids with low days on the market.

That said, it's best (especially when buying from Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.) to use a tile with a slightly rounded edge to reduce lippage (when one edge is slightly higher than the adjoining one).

Look for smaller banks offering low cost options.

Hi all,One of the keys of effective negotiation is to have some way to justify a really low (or high) offer. 

High demand but low supply