@Patti Robertson  try some life estates we just took possesion on one of those we did 9 years ago.paid 80k  lady was losing it to taxs all she wanted was to stay their until she died.subdividing it into 3 lots going to build 2000k sq ft homes  at 120 a foot and sell for 350 a foot.now I don't know what I could have done with the 80 .. but i will take a over million dollar profit on a 80k investment anytime... for all I know i could have lost the 80k on some dumb investment  LOL

@Troy Wells - Loudoun County is excellent place to buy home, and price per sq foot is much lower than buying close Washington D.C.

The Fire suppression should be $3-$4 per square foot of sprinkled space

It turns out that the second one cost me in the end, less per square foot in the same neighborhood.

We are buying a lot from the city to build a first floor commercial (general use) and 3 floors of residential above it on an 8000 square foot lot.  

@Diane G.depends on the area and your plan for the property.i look for rentals, so in my area:i make sure the house is not in the 100 yr flood planei assume $15-20 per sq foot in repairs and make sure it is still worth it for rental ratesill do typical due diligence (crime stats, zoning, other random stuff)

If it's not a footing/foundation issue, It could be 1 or 2  floor joists that have been compromised/have rot especially in the kitchen if water has been leaking through the floor and they may need to be replaced. 

I went to Home depot and layed 50 cent a foot laminate directly over the carpet to seal the smell.

For example if they felt the owner ignored their maintenance requests, you may be able to start off on a better foot with them by assuring them you will take their requests seriously.I'd also consider that you may not want a vacant unit in the middle of winter, so if it were me, I'd probably spend the first few weeks getting a sense for these tenants, their issues, etc. and determine if you think they're going to bad-mouth the property/you to others.I guess as long as they seem like relatively reasonable people (i.e. not hostile), if you still want them to move I'd probably defer to giving them 90 days notice and basically tell them you're giving them more notice than you need to because you want to make sure they have enough time to move.But also tell them based on how much you paid for the property you absolutely need to raise the rent - it's not a question of your being a nice/mean guy, it's a question of making the #s work so you can afford the mortgage payment.I'd also consider searching out some community organizations and contact info for the Department of Elderly Affairs and anyone else who might assist older people in finding new living arrangements, and include that as a second page to the rent increase notice.A lot of questions like this depend on the specifics of the people involved, whether you can build a rapport, understand and possibly address their concerns, whether you think they're acting in good faith, etc.So it's hard to really give an exact answer but those are some thoughts.

Roofs in Los Angeles seem to have about a 20 year lifespan before a $4-$5 per square foot replacement needs to occur.