I'd be surprised if he allowed any disorder from the pets but I won't know until I look into it. 

If you intend to do more than just blog (like offer whitepapers for download, or add a calendar to your site), then you'll sorely miss being able to add plugins (which Wordpress.com does not allow).While hosting providers like GoDaddy and BlueHost can be great for Wordpress.org (ie, "self-hosted") blogs, you're still signing on for a lot of arcane technical overhead (like navigating a "cPanel" which is like a time machine straight back to 1998), as well as having to keep an eye on security patches and other updates. 

I'll add to this by stating what I would consider as a summary to what you explained here...and what I feel is sorely lacking in any of our traditional (and even education by experience) sources.  

If something sticks out like a sore thumb they might issue a code violation and you might need an architect to draw up plans.

Even with highly recommended inspectors that gave me thorough reports, I sorely underestimated the cost of the renovations & repairs needed on the property.

Even with highly recommended inspectors that gave me thorough reports, I sorely underestimated the cost of the renovations & repairs needed on the property.

Plus, I love taking an eye sore and removing it from the neighborhood.

How do you view a good house, that's surrounded by rental homes that aren't well maintained or are an eye-sore?  

I want to start adding rooms and dwelling units so that I can maximize my rent-by-the-room revenue (we don't cash flow until all 4 rooms are rented); however, I'm worried that the kitchen will be an eye sore such that I won't be able to fill those rooms with my desired tenant (working, clean, respectful, professional adult). 

The front porch was an eye sore and we completely remodeled that, then refinished all the floors, painted all the walls, updated all the outlets, updated all the light fixtures.