Secondly, if you've purchased a house that needs a little help, you would be shocked at what paint, new fixtures and a few flowers can do for value.

Expected renovations include: new windows, new flooring (carpet throughout mostly but a few rooms have hard wood), new paint throughout, landscaping/small patio work in back and stone work along steps and walk way, new light fixtures and other cosmetic items, possibly some repair to the slate roof and new kitchen (new cabinets, flooring and appliances).    

I had a crew go in and deep clean every piece of concrete in the basement with bleach and I sprayed every square inch of the wood (floor joists, window wells, etc...) that I could find with KILLZ before painting.

I painted, installed laminate, tiles, fixtures, plumbing etc...I have no pets and don't smoke.

We now paint all ceilings and trim in pure white and use a modern, neutral color on the walls.

I installed a/c in both units, painted, and replaced fixtures (light switches, electical outlets with nice white ones, doorknobs with nice steel ones).  

They look better and never need to be painted.  

that a fair rate most drywall are paint is billed out 25 to 35 with a 4 hour min plus 15% mark up on material is normal

I would either pull down the paneling and drywall correctly or just paint the paneling to lighten up the space.

The brushed nickel light fixtures always accompany our cool color schemes, and the Martha Stewart Kitchen cabinet paint was a nice touch to the cool scheme.