I wouldn't know whether to strip a place down to the frames, in order to move things around, or where to place fixtures, or take our a wall, to open up an area, etc...

This would be things like paint, flooring, cabinets, fixtures, etc.

The tank was filled to the brim, falling apart, and the leech field refused to accept more than a cupful at a time.

My plan for the property was to cosmetically upgrade it nothing structural.We updated all the bathrooms (new tiles, vanities, fixtures), new carpet (bedrooms), laminate flooring (living room), painted the interior, added granite counter tops throughout the house, new SS appliances etc.

Not my cup of tea, but folks do make it work.  

Not my cup of tea per se. 

Cost summary, trim phase $49,437Light fixtures, fans & appliances $5,055Wood flooring & tile $18,707Plumbing, electrical & mechanical trim $10,918Landscaping, fill, driveway & sidewalk $7,819Other costs $6,938: Cleanup, shower glass, bath mirrors, trim carpenter.

While the government considers the useful life of a multifamily apartment building to be 27.5 years, it considers the useful lives of certain items on the property, like cabinetry, appliances, and fixtures, to be much shorter – as little as 7 years or lessA professional cost-segregation study will separate these items out from value of the building, meaning you may realize even greater tax savings from the depreciation deduction.In the earlier example, if you conduct a cost-segregation study, you may find that $1,000,000 of the value of your $4,750,000 building comes from cabinetry, appliances, fixtures, etc.In that case, your depreciation deduction would be even greater for the first 7 years – $136,363 from the building depreciation ($3,750,000/27.5) and $142,857 ($1,000,000/7) from personal property depreciation, for a total of $279,220 in depreciation expense annually.You’d almost certainly have tax “losses” during those first five years that you could offset against other investment income.Cost-segregation sounds great, doesn’t it?

I've done a lot of plumbing fixture repair/replacement in my time, but chose to pay a local plumber that has experience in these old homes as I wouldn't want to do more harm than good as a DIYer on this.

This house has all-new roof, windows, subfloor, waterproof vinyl floor, soft close cabinets, appliances, siding, insulation, HVAC and duct work, light fixtures, tubs and showers, toilets, vanities..... so many updates!!!