He kept his table set complete with charger plates.

Start with reviewing the zoning of the property and then go to Table of Use for that town and see what's permissible in that town and then go to City Hall to speak to them about your intentions.

You pay extra for everything this way and noone wants to ever talk about it, higher interest rates, miscellaneous fees for closings, more headaches at the closing table, a higher tax return but you also get that liability shield ( in theory ) if god forbid something happens.

I'm putting together a table of common real estate rehab/update costs.

You're currently at the amusement park but rather than testing out the rides, you're at the wimpy picnic tables drawing up diagrams on what ride would be most fun...or calculating how the machines are built. 

Should you happen to find a property where you can make a lot of money regardless of bad management since you will be in the service, going through long vacancies, paying for damages and expensive repairs and you can still make a profit then maybe you will be okay, but I doubt you will find one.Investors do not make money in the real estate business by collecting rents unless you can pay cash for the property, but even when you pay cash your ROI is super low and a 2nd job wiping tables at Mc Donalds may be the best choice.

CRM, website, transaction management, lead generation, mentors, a robust daily training schedule and we even have an optional daily round table where we bring questions or general items for discussions.Sadly, one side effect of my relocation to central Maine is that I'm now in a market where you can buy a decent home for less than $150,000. 

All I've figured out so far is those investors/contractors who are paying cash under the table are basically just "winging it" on their returns. 

Most likely your lot was subdivided prior to May 1, 1998, therefore you need to refer to the second table B in Section 615.R-3 Multifamily Residence District.

It seems they does not have their service price table posted, but the service itself looks very handy.