It's a weird time, lots of things are happening to lots of people, the govt. is preventing evictions, and you're in the business of providing housing.

You can use the Easy Permit Process for the following project types:Inside the BuildingDrywall Replacement (greater than 1,000 square feet)Exterior Doors*Fire Damage (buildings with 24% damage or less, require demolition inspection approval and a separate electrical permit)Furnaces (replacement of existing gas-fired only in all commerical buildings and residential buildings with 4 or more dwelling units)*Existing Plumbing Fixture ReplacementElectrical Work (requires an electrical contractor)**Counter Top and Cabinet Replacement (required for condos only)Outside the BuildingDoors/Window Replacement (4 dwelling units or more, if same size, same location)*Fences (non-masonry fences greater than 5 ft. in height or masonry walls of any height)*Sheds greater than 150 square feetDetached frame garages, up to 600 square feet in area, without rooftop deck*Trash enclosure (wood only)Porch repair (if a violation report says permit for repairs only)Masonry work (mason contractor required)Tuckpointing (mason contractor required, masonry cleaning and grinding require a pollution prevention permit from CDPH)Roofs (If adding a layer, a general contractor or primary owner can perform the work)*Roofs (If total tear-off, must employ Illinois-licensed roofing contractor)Lintel repairs (6’-0” opening maximum, mason contractor required)Scaffolding (an easy permit can be received the same day if the work over the public way has been approved by the Chicago Department of Transportation) * For this project type in an all-residential building, the easy permit may be obtained online.** Electrical permits may be obtained online by licensed electrical contractors only.

This is to prevent title theft of properties.

If power was consistently on and she didn't maintain proper heat or take steps to prevent frozen pipes, that's different.

Even if you own it, you may be prevented from altering it. 

My mom told me that we should get a personal real estate agent in order to prevent having their credit score checked and lowered.

The reality is the large majority of realtors don’t understand the 203k loan, or are uninformed and jaded by heresay about the loan that prevents them from working in your best interest.

One thing that frustrates this is the big credit check sites that cater to smaller landlords (eg, cozy.co, mysmartmove, zillow's credit check) actually prevent you from seeing their SSN (and probably DOB but I can't remember).

This helps prevent any hard feelings or tricky situations.

I want to refinance the house with my father and I ONLY but I'm assuming me being married is going to prevent that from happening.