I agree that smoking is a disgusting habit, and remediation is a pain.

Mind you, if you made a habit of applying for FHA-approved loans more than once a year, every year, they'd likely take a cold hard look at your motivation, compared to how it relates to their intended purpose of helping home-owners who don't want to wait any longer to get into their own home, but haven't been able to save a high deposit.I'm curious: how will you get from 3.5% equity (if that), to more than 20%, in less than a year?

If, thereafter, the owner occupies neither unit, the second unit shall automatically become a non-habitable space, shall not be used as a dwelling unit, and shall not be rented."

Catching bad habits early is important and professional. 

Back before this got so popular I could get a habitable house for $2500.00.

@Marc TuckeyThat's correct the very minimum to make it habitable so you can rent it out...in case the redeemer didn't agree with what you paid for the rehab I heard the judge will give you only basic standard $ for what you spent for example you put granite countertops you won't get the $ you spent for that instead you may get what a tile or Formica countertop worth if the old one wasn't salvageable.having all receipts would always be a good idea.

I think it is absolutely vital to get referrals and references which is by far the most common thing people preach but are there any additional steps you could take beyond that?

In addition, the mere presence of a lead base substance in a dwelling shall not by itself violate any warranty of habitability. 130-A:18 Civil Suits

Make sure that you use an actual Real Estate attorney though and if you find one that is competent, responsive and easy to work with build a relationship with them it will be one of the best decisions you've ever made as they will be a vital part of your team.

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