He then looks at me holding his face and says "I still want to give you a massage" I ended up having snatch this guy up by his shirt and pretty much threw him out of the door bouncer style.

Environmental matters of past owners can effect future uses.

Some factors to consider.... two handle vs. single handle, with sprayer vs. without, top brands vs. off brands, and style.

. * Turn garages into a 1BR loft-style apartment.

I love the original hardwood floors and I like living in a ranch style house. 

Often people think this will mean you're living in a 2/1 apartment, but I would look for attached townhome style quads (seen some under 125000 in my area that rent out each unit for 850-900 a month...do that cap rate!)

We'll have to add that, the style of teaching I guess you would call it, into the criteria as we're figuring this out.

Figure out the pros and cons of different styles of investing and start planning.

I work in the environmental field and can appreciate the unseen costs in any remediation project. 

What I would pay...give or take:Gut rehab - $40/sfNew construction - $65/sfNot saying you'll get those prices (could be higher or lower given you probably have different contractors, different design style, different definition of mid- to high-end finishes, different material suppliers, different negotiating skills, different level of experience, etc), but that's about what I expect...