I really have not thought about adding on to our existing house.

Adding a permanent foundation shouldn't be more than a few thousand.

Obviously if I were concerned about the safety, I wouldn't live in it, but just because the windows aren't large enough for the code doesn't mean there aren't safe exits.I don't think a building inspector would care because I'm not talking about "adding another dwelling to the building."

I added home, cell, vonage line and they all worked.

Great list - one thing you might want to consider adding is comping propertiesA lot of us use excel spreadsheets that VAs can easily use to fill out for each property (listing all pertinent info from how many beds/bath to what was recently sold in the area)Another one would be managing craigslist postings (tracking posts/responses or putting up new posts)

I would insist on being added as an authorized occupant before moving in; what if the landlord doesn't know or want you there?

The ad says both units are rented (although the pictures are from empty units).I know I could inspect after it's in contract, but I am more comfortable seeing the place before I even bid.

If you do what you say will you be doing in adding to the carriage house will it be worth more then you are spending?

We put an ad on Craigslist and had a Swedish foreign exchange student join us, and he actually paid $50 more a month because he wanted to guarantee he'd be chosen, decreasing each of our rent by $25/month.

Don't want to do more paperwork than is necessary but this sounds like and added layer of protection.