The fact that you are competing with another buyer tells me this is on the mls and you are wasting your time and that of the seller on this one.

I would Scrape the basement walls, tuck point any loose areas and drylok the walls.  

Putting a few personal touches in the home like a vase of flowers in kitchen, a few prints hanging on walls, can help make it look more inviting.

There’s a property nearby me, that when I wast starting to look for a place out of college was on the market briefly.

Because my search is broad (and flexible) and I don't like wasting my realtors' time, I'd rather focus on an area and a strategy first.

It just wastes so much time and then you have a 3rd party who you have to educate. 

Oh and an engineer that can help with removing walls and draw plans for the city.

I'd look for cracking drywall upstairs and in the ceiling and walls beneath the affected areas.

Good Morning BiggerPocketersI currently have one of my rentals in Minnesota White Bear city area has a floor joists problem that need reinforcement as a result of a rehab done 3 years ago where a huge marble island is in place in kitchen apparently making over pressure on the floor led to that cabinets pulled away from the wall by 1/2 inchI need to find a good contractor that can be available to do this job of reinforcing the joistsThanks for your referralsMohamed

while living in the property, did some remodel on the unit - LVP flooring, re-paint walls and cabinets What was the outcome?