Does that seem like a solution or totally unnecessary?

But you're right, It would keep unsuspecting customers  away.Good thing is there are plenty of contractors in Harrisburg, PA looking for work.

If you do things your way, you are looking for you as a buyer, which can work, but oftentimes people with artisan taste or over-reaching artistic vision customize the house too much for your market buyer and in turn, overprice it because they put their heart and money (and often too many upgrades) into it.

We’ll buy the stone by the slab and then we’ll have a fabricator custom-cut and install the countertops.

We have a lot more success working with the city, and sometimes they're offering suggestions on creative solutions for dealing with some of their requirements.

May be worth looking into RUBS and if that's an appropriate solution for this property.As far as your analysis:Include a renovation budget.

I was working on buying a multi-unit and when the seller contacted the bank for a payoff the bank would not give them my payoff as they said they're too far in the foreclosure process.Has anyone dealt with that before and come up with a solution?

If you find a real estate attorney, they would likely have some forms available that they have previously analyzed and used for a different matter and can customize it to fit your needs.

One solution is to use a Hard Money Lender and then refinance into a traditional 30 yr mortgage so you don't keep incurring the high fees.  

I'm thinking there has to be a house-hack solution in here somewhere!