I agree if all your stuff is cheap and shabby the person may not like it... or maybe they wont care, which is why I would do a mix so they can hide their ugly stuff and display what they like. 

I got a hose and nozzle set up for my pressure washer on ebay for cheap, works great, now when i do a rehab, its part of the program to jet out the lateral, 

They are fantastic, cheap, ridiculously easy to install, and look great!

Property is cheap, but typically requires extensive renovation.

Also targeted, specific CL ads are cheap and easy.

Do not buy something because it is cheap.

If its any consolation, back in 1998 when I bought my first house in the Bay Area it was scary expensive as well, although very cheap in retrospect.

We bought a fixer for cheap right out of school and lived in it for 5 years.

Sometimes a lender will use the phase one environmental report that the seller has if it's less than a year old.The phase one isn't cheap and cost thousands of dollars typically.If you have to go to a phase 2 that can run 10,000 or more with soil sampling etc.Even if a report is on file with the seller and the bank will let you use it you need to order your own. 

If the market crashes, that's OK too because now we can accumulate more properties cheap to keep for long term cashflow.