Regardless of your strategy, there are great in-depth market breakdowns as well as speciality indexes that can paint a picture of yield and growth across the nation. 

I would do the sheet rocking and painting myself. 50$ per sq ft seems very expensive.

Many painting companies will take on popcorn removal. it requires wetting, then scraping off.

The only thing we had to do was paint, replace some drywall, lay down some laminate flooring and add new appliances.

So you can imagine that living in Maryland, the land of $400k 40-year old townhouses, as I read about these little homes, my mind is painting beautiful pictures of free and clear home ownership, with all the magical financial freedoms that entails.As @Doug McVinua very rightly points out, getting permission to build this house in the US may be very difficult and costly.

Also for us Beginner Women Investors, is there a way we can tell if we are being over charged or ripped off by Handyman/Electrician etc???

See Deduction over $500 for certain clothing or household items, later.If the property is valuable because it is old or unique, see the discussion under Paintings, Antiques, and Other Objects of Art.Used Clothing Used clothing and other personal items are usually worth far less than the price you paid for them.

Questions: 1) what product did you use to glaze or paint the bathroom wall tile? 

Paint and paper, fine.What I have been finding is that the real estate market here is heated to the point where this is easier said than done.Are other Atlanta investors finding the market too hot to handle, or am I jus too cheap?

All carpets were replaced and wall / ceiling paint and floor sealer.