I am also scared that somewhere in the slab (although no indication of that) and also in the shower and toilet (again no indication of that, water flushes smoothly to the sceptic and no funny smells outside) the plumbing is bad.

I actually wholesaled them a deal and it went smoothly. 

Plaster of Paris (takes a little practice) for the deep areas, finish plaster for the top, both dry fast and sand smooth, you're on your way.

James, the short answer is both.There are “direct writers”, those companies who only sell there product through there own agents, like State Farm.  

.-- Kitchen:* new quartz countertop* custom marble backsplash with patterned glass accent strip* new stainless steel sink* Grohe pull out faucet* new sheet vinyl flooring (had to rip out 3 layers of existing flooring)* new stainless steel electric smooth top range, dishwasher, microwave range hood-- master bath* new quartz countertop (custom 46" width)* grohe faucet* american standard skirted toilet (sides are smooth so you don't see the "piping" and easier to clean), had to move the water line-- half bath* new ikea super slim cabinet* new Ikea super slim sink* grohe faucet* new toilet* new sheet vinyl flooringA number of my friends who have done similar renos have spent $30-60k doing what we did for far less than $30k incl professional labor but it took a lot of shopping and negotiating.This has proven very helpful as we price out our first picks  (2+ family homes) to househack since my wife must be ok with how it looks, so I'm prepared to have to get some updates done before we can even move in.Our first offer is being submitted tomorrow by our agent. 

This deal was smooth and straight to the point.

Recession...NO....slow down/decent sized correction....HELL yes.....The bigger the rocket, the bigger the blast when it explodes.....all good parties come to an end.....a smooth slow down is WAY better than a crash

My idea at the moment is to continue increasing my cashflow which is now at around -$15,000 per monthI am not foolish enough to believe its going to be all smooth sailing, hardly....

I'll have my S65 doing a smooth 130 all the way to Florida to sip drank soon enough...  

I’m not sure it will be long term deal but it’s worked fairly smooth so far.