The days of a REIA are numbered, sadly though, people think they are the key to the guru who has the magic Blue or Red pill to ail their thirst for real estate knowledge.

AND I always added a touch of the color from that room to ceiling paint, a tiny bit, but it creates a trick of distortion tricking the eye to sensing higher ceilings of colors go from darker to lighter as it goes up. 

If it's a lighter cosmetic rehab then $50 per sq ft usually gets it done.

Personally, if you have choice lighter will look dirtier but keep the house cooler. 

I would never touch Chicago personally, but I tend to avoid blue states when buying investments.

Unfortunately without blue prints it would be hard to get a detailed cost estimate on the new build.

Also I do have a little power in the situation because he contacted me out of the blue asking to sell.

Recently, the city of Independence still want folks to get a business license while cities like Blue Springs, WebsterGroves etc. mention on their websites like below  See https://www.webstergrovesmo.gov/238/BusinessMerchants-Licenses.

HOWEVER, upon reviewing the photos, I noticed the tenants also - without approval - painted much of the house various colors (blue, orange, etc).The property managers seem to ignore the fact that the tenant had broken the lease by refusing showings, and now that they had painted the property without permission.

Pool, workout room, etc.Class B Properties:Not as new as the Class A’s but still high end properties.Rents are fairly high but not as high as the Class A’s.Typical renters are white collar office type workers; mixed with higher paid blue collar type workers.Class C Properties: Lower rent than Class B's but not in a War Zone.Typical renters are hardworking blue collar type workers; and possibly Section 8 renters.Probably never afford their own single family home.Class D Properties.Typically located in the worst parts of the city.