He is VERY handy at anything with wood or electrical which would be the other side of the partnership.

But the results are a clean smooth wall.

Essentially, my plan is to learn, network, tighten up my credit, raise capital, and pull the trigger within the next year (my original plan was within 9 months, but that would mean purchasing in December...I'm afraid it will be more difficult to flip a house in this area during the winter and I want to minimize holding cost as much as practical...thoughts on that are appreciated).That said, I'm a clean slate ready to absorb all the knowledge and wisdom from others in the BP community.

One of my great long-term real estate bets counts on them cleaning up the inner-city beaches. ;)

I have an Electrical Engineering degree but haven't designed anything in over 9 years having moved into more of a project management role.

Our process is very thorough and includes removing old galvanized plumbing and replacing it with copper and PVC, replacing all new electrical wiring in conduit and breaker panels, all new HVAC including furnaces, condensers and water tanks.

They don't want to deal with cleaning, prepping or dealing with agents.

Fix to clean, safe and liveable, sell and move on. 

Otherwise I'd like to refinance my way into a clean property.  

Yes, stained concrete in lieu of flooring can look beautiful and can be done with amazing patterns, but have you ever tried to remove a wine stain (that the tenant failed to clean up) from stained concrete?