Or should I only look for concrete homes?

New construction sites can be places to find people for side work as well such as concrete, framing, decks, siding etc.

General repair would be to install a steel post on proper size concrete footing directly below splice / sag.

I also believe there may be a market for this property during the summer (mountain biking etc) but not as certain.I admit I need more concrete figures which I'm waiting on.

You could pay water but stipulate (in the lease) that if water usage exceeds 120% of normal (you'd have to explain what this means in concrete numbers and have a sound statistical basis for what defines "normal") the tenants will be billed the difference divided evenly.It takes a bit of legwork up front and some math, but it's a good way to curb tenant abuse of "free" utilities.

So when the time comes, my wife will take over on financing and hopefully get past the lending limits with more ease since she won't be tied to the properties in any concrete way. 

That being said we were never able to get down to a concrete number because a lot of it had to do with the additional income coming in.

I would contact a loan officer after you file this year so there are concrete numbers to go off of.

It gives a more polished look to your company to add that in on a job bid.

Are you breaking ground in summer where you won't have any issues getting concrete in or working around spring rains?