This can lead to dueling appraisals, so you'll want some tiebreaker mechanism.

@Ryan Copeland Don’t let this scare you, it’s a tactic often threatens by crappy contractors (I have filed Legitimate liens as a contractor).  1) there are penalties for filing fraudulent liens2) you could get his lien squashed with one court hearing, assuming it is not legit3) in almost every state there is a mechanism for get the lien “bonded off”, or removed from the property, while you get it quashed or just let it lie since they usually never file the suit to enforce it and liens expire, typically in a year, if the contractor doesn’t file suit to enforce it.

I knew college wasn't the right path for me, so I was working full time as a mechanic, saving every dollar I could in order to put it into real estate.

I'm not charging him rent, but he is doing some roofing, plumbing, mechanical and tree trimming work for me. 

Junior lien holders are usually less sophisticated (friends and family) so it's tough for them to keep borrower on the straight and narrow.2) In a short sale situation the junior lien may pressure senior lien to discount, not that the senior has to but this could be an unpleasant situation.3) Junior liens do prevent a DIL, but I'm not sure as a lender I would accept a DIL under any circumstances, since things like a mechanic's lien can sneak in there.I'm starting to thing there is not a clear cut argument either way.

Maintain your mechanical systems and set up a capex reserve account and dont worry about replacing the furnace.

The only other thing to think about would be whether the drop ceiling is there to provide access to mechanical or pipes that you may need to access down the line. 

Roof, floors, mechanical, etc...

I fixed it myself because I couldn’t afford to pay a mechanic.

in Mechanical Engineering, but decided office cubicles weren't my thing, so I took a job as a project manager for a home builder.