As far as the mechanical work goes thats all on him. he will be piping everything to code (hopefully). if he asks you what type of material you would like to use on this project copper is best for water lines as for one copper joints are stronger than plastic and two copper is natural so your not drinking something that was sitting in plastic for god knows how long. now a days the go to is pex which is fine and also cheaper.

One of the risks with a high leverage strategy is the the bank, CC, HELOC provider, can freeze credit lines whenever they decide to. I

Seriously just look at the comps,( I do not have to )  I have done 100s and 100s out there.

I have heard everything from "I didn't want to bother you" to "I was afraid it was my fault", just crazy.  

If I remember to I will update this thread in a few months with how I decided to proceed and what the results were!

These are the folks you need to market to.  I

What you are referring to is called embodied energy or energy return on energy invested (EROI).

One question I can not seem to find the answer to is, what do I need to do if I want to take the partial exclusion.

Thanks but I'm still in the learning stages that why I asked for a mentor or at least some to I could shadow

It ranged from "I can borrow all the tools I need to complete this job" and "I've got a buddy that needs work, we'll knock this out for you" to "I do decks and painting but my uncle is a retired carpenter, he'll do a nice job on your cabinets and I know a guy for flooring, not sure about the bathrooms and tile but I'm budgeting $2k in labor to complete your bathrooms, I'll find someone to do it".