He "dropped the ball" on getting the electric called in and now because of the storm it could be many more weeks before we get power to the house.

i am looking at a house that needs some major work from the basement up.. total rehab new drywall and paint and carpet/tile and a new kitchen.. also needs electrical and furnace work as well... probably looking at least 25-30k in work.

Less so in DC proper, more so in the suburbs.Energy costs in this regional are pretty moderate, so for most people the aesthetics of a house are more important than the small energy savings.On a typical median priced home in Montgomery or Fairfax County you would see about a $20k drop in value by adding panels.

It could also be part of some of the new energy codes but I don't have those yet.

No, no, no...I see these all the time in properties...houses and foundations move and shift over time...in my area, for example, all of our floors are sloped because of settling and foundation movement...no big deal...have a contractor look at them if it really bothers but I would say look at the HVAC/electrical/plumbing/sewage in the basement (I've had that in one of my properties)/those type of critical issues...those are way more important than cracks in the wall...just my opinion BTW!

There is a lot of frenetic energy at these auctions.

I am civil engineer, owner of a local engineering and construction company investing in Energy and Real Estate in general.

.- 5 year tenant-Utilities:  All tenants pay their own utilities (Gas, oil, heat...not water)-Water Bill: $650/Quarterly- Paid by owner (me)-Taxes: $1700/Quarterly -Home Insurance: $2150/year-Flood insurance (needed): $1400/year-New roof 2013-New hot water heaters-New electrical-Mortgage info:  -Purchase price: $780,000 ($260/sq ft)-20% down: $156,000-30 year fixed @ 3.708% (**Current level)-Total mortgage payment (including taxes, ins, etc)= $3,955/Month-Total income from rent= $4,800-Cash flow: $805/month (@ $1200 rental per unit).  

I'm not concerned with making money off the laundry, as long as the extra income covers the cost of buying them ($300 for the pair) and any water and electricity usage, I'm ok with that.Thanks for the idea, and any current tenants will probably get a rent increase in the next year or so.

Or if the 2nd floor tenants are actually unreasonably noisy, send them a warning letter and then if no change, ask them to leave.That said, if you want to placate the first floor tenants you could have an "energy audit" by RISE Engineering where they look at the house especially in terms of heat loss and come up with a proposal to add insulation and other energy-saving features (and give you free LED light bulbs :).I'm not saying that insulation is the same as sound proofing at all.