So you can imagine that living in Maryland, the land of $400k 40-year old townhouses, as I read about these little homes, my mind is painting beautiful pictures of free and clear home ownership, with all the magical financial freedoms that entails.As @Doug McVinua very rightly points out, getting permission to build this house in the US may be very difficult and costly.

Could you share what color (paint) you used for the walls?

See Deduction over $500 for certain clothing or household items, later.If the property is valuable because it is old or unique, see the discussion under Paintings, Antiques, and Other Objects of Art.Used Clothing Used clothing and other personal items are usually worth far less than the price you paid for them.

Questions: 1) what product did you use to glaze or paint the bathroom wall tile? 

Paint and paper, fine.What I have been finding is that the real estate market here is heated to the point where this is easier said than done.Are other Atlanta investors finding the market too hot to handle, or am I jus too cheap?

In real cold climates it may be more involved due to moisture concerns.  

All carpets were replaced and wall / ceiling paint and floor sealer.

I don't remember the in's and out's of what FHA required on condition but I know small, usually easily fixed items like smoke detectors, chipping paint, misplaced downspouts are items that they will require.I would recommend getting a good idea of what they require and keep that in mind while looking.

This is what I would think as a minimum when I would walk through a house HVAC could be 5-10kElectric 2-3kPlumbing 2-3kKitchen 3-6kBath 1-3kInterior painting 2-5kDrywall ?  

Flooring, painting, drywall repair, etc. shouldn't need any permits.Anything that needs a license (HVAC, new electrical circuits, new plumbing, etc) or larger changes (like roof or siding replacement) is typically going to need one.