We use eggshell sheen paint for walls and semi-gloss for trim and doors, which can be easily touched up or cleaned.

Art on the walls, bookshelves, etc.

In San Diego (maybe all of CA) it is now very difficult to get a new basement bedroom classified as a BR due to egress rules (windows must be low on the wall and large enough that a person can maneuver another person through it). 

The wall in question is the one on the right. 

right up there with the Wolf of Wall st..  

My wife refuses to share walls with tenants so house hacking is not an option for me, your fiance might not care, either way you should know what they are/how it could benefit you.

However, if there is siphoning of water up the wall/insulation, you may have to do the entire wall.

After getting inside and calling owners it’s 1300sqft and completely gutted; floor, walls, ceiling, counters, cabinets.

I work in finance having gotten my start on Wall St. in I-banking and PE, then moved on to real estate working for a large conglomerate in New Jersey.

Efficient enough (I put my money into "air sealing" and wall and attic insulation).