My husband and I are still in the “education” phase of our real estate journey, but we plan to buy our first propert no later than 2020 - quicker if we can save up capital faster than projected.

There's tons of law firms that do appeals on contingency, so it will cost you a portion of what you save. 

Hubby and I will continue to work for now since both of us work in a medical field and hopefully wants to retire soon with passive income.

It was really simple stuff, and I saved over 1k for a few hours of work. 

The current owner 'pays' for water and I want to sub-meter and save on those costs while I hold the property long term.I've had one company tell me they do no less than 12 installations and other have not returned my calls. 

I much rather save the money and hire different trades to do what you need. 

Alliance does 90%Aspire Federal does 90%Garden Savings does 100%

It's not that difficult to work around cabinets plus you save a little on materials.

I'll have about 20% of the purchase price in the bank but I will not be putting 20% down, this is saved for minor updates and to cover for unexpected vacancy expenses, I'll be going for an FHA. 

They save the costs and maintenance of the ducts.