@Nick Heffernan I would first consult an engineer for the wall knock downs.

What a cool entry to real estate...my family has a couple of budding sound engineers who are learning their craft so it’s good to hear there are opportunities out there in the industry.

Their job was to interface with the on-site Project Superintendent(s) and Project Engineer(s) who sit on those ugly jobsite trailers from day one to last.Now a small boutique builder and remodeler probably has Project Mangers either directly on site or floating from one project to another assuring progress and monitoring quality.

On top of that I spoke to an engineer and he was in the $5-8,000 range depending on findings and what the town required...

I'm an engineer by trade so I like getting into the details as well. 1. 10k on my side: Thanks, I thought I was able to deduct a portion of common area expenses; however this is my first property so I'm still (and always will be) learning. 

Should we secure lease commitments before contacting engineers/contractors?

@John Bergstrom - Why not call a local environmental engineer and have them test it? 

Using both the assessor's site and the mls search engine, you can create your own form of sales comparison similar to what an appraiser would do. 

I have an engineering degree, but it was my side hustle that propelled me to FI within a few short years.Good luck and if you have any questions you can always PM me.

I currently work as a network engineer for a telecom and I'm looking into real estate investing and wealth building.