I had a junk removal guy come to give me an estimate and he said he wouldn't take the steel cartridges (which, btw, are quite heavy.

I was looking for books on home flipping, and found "The Book On Estimating Rehab Costs" and it's sister book which led me here. 

The more creative you are, the better chance of success. 

Do we have to the give the tenant a chance to correct the violations of the lease. 

Then protest the value every chance you can to keep them as low as possible.

I know that appreciation is a gamble, but if a city's economy is diversified and there is a finite amount of land in the prime location that is downtown/waterfront then chances are it should appreciate, right?

I personally budget 10% over a quote or what my estimate is if I can’t get a quote prior to buying.

I've run into quite a few "deals" from wholesalers where their arv or estimated rent is way off the mark.

Of course you can do what you want, but there's a good chance it will not go as planned, and either you or the tenant will not be happy.If those decks are due for a refinish, and the refinishing is pretty easy, who don't you send a handyman over there to do it, or go over there yourself if you're a more active sort of landlord?

If we were to rent out the front house that we currently live in, I would estimate it to be about $3500 or more for it, since it was remodeled, and it looks great.