@Donald Boone We are spoiled in most parts of Metro-Atlanta with pretty good soil to build on.

Bear in mind that rates vary state to state.Most likely the other contractors you're talking to don't have insurance at all. 

However they informed me that the chimney would need to be completely rebuilt from the roof line and the quotes I received  were more than I could bear for something that doesn't enhance the value of the property. 

It's the 30k kitchen that rarely does.But in the end what really matters is what can your market bear. 

Look for buildings with separately metered utilities as I have found you can't fully make up for the utility cost in higher rents without reaching rental prices the market can't bear. 

My only problem is as small multi units are not common in the area (the only comps I could find are in a more densely populated town 25 mins away), I'm coming up with very different figures for ARV when I use GRM or CapEx (bearing in mind that this will be a full rehab, so will have new big ticket items going in). 

I was hoping to buy a second place in Big Bear but not much that I like has been popping up for under $300k.

This is my first forum post so please bear with me.  

If I saw an undersized header in one load-bearing wall, I would want to open up and check all load-bearing walls, etc.This type of renovation would add a lot of time, and have high associated carrying costs.

There are more foundation issues on the east side of town as well due to the higher expansive clay soil content.