Basically, I fought tooth and nail to keep my house and business in addition to 50% of the time with my boys, but I had to pay heavily for what I came away with. 

.$2,000 to make Ready Home (750 sq foot, 1 story home) ________________________________$95.00 - Landscaping / Clean Out Flowerbeds$150 - Exterior Painting$150 - Landscaping / Tree Shrubs$250 - Haul Off (Limbs, Tires, Furniture)$225 - Full House Cleaning (One Story)$495 - Wall and ceiling repairs/Paint Touch up the house from nail holes and scuff marks Seal the joints in the bathroom Walls, trim, and doors touch up Seal above the kitchen cabinetsThis all seems excessively high to me... isnt this $15/hour work with a handyman?

We spent over a year looking for this property and nailed the reno budget in every other aspect, but if we have to spend $25k on lead abatement then that will wipe out over a year's worth of CF....How do you guys handle lead paint in your rentals?

@Jon Deavers and @Ben Sears hit the nail on the head though.

Put as much polish on that tu*d as you wish and it will still never shine.

And if the community is small enough, go old school and ask to put up flyers at local businesses; nail and hair salons, coffee shops, grocery bulletin boards, etc.

If not you will want to nail down hat cost as someone (most likely you) will have to come up with that $$ right after closing and it could possibly be a Few thousand dollars to get rid of it.

We work with many institutions and smaller investors alike and again, like Nick, we feel if you nail the "1% rule," then you found a solid deal.   

The cheap contractors were nothing but problems bought the wrong materials, over used mud, over used liquid nails.

@David Sumner @Wayne Brooks nailed it.