Cost plus a certain %.My average deal is a 1700 square foot home with a 2 car garage, fully fenced (wood fencing) and FULLY landscaped with all sod and a few bushes and trees.

Or, rebuild the railing with a different design.There's a bunch of lumber and footings in that deck. 

I don't have this venture fully executed yet, I'm in the exploration/research phase of it but the plan is to dock it at the marina (where they have a convenient store & ice cream shop/picnic area and as far as renovation, I'm still learning that but my thought is that we can do higher quality materials and finishings since the square footage is so much smaller. 

At $50 that puts you at $1.50 a sq foot.

"Also he knows that I am going to rent the place out for him,"This statement has you on a entirely different footing.

It is a 2400 square foot house on half-an-acre.  

Whatever it takes to get your foot through the door.

Back then when my property were under major renovation, the County dude showed up asking question on the rent, budget and square footage etc.

In this context, here is one mistake that I see investors make over and over again, they focus on price and don't put it in connection with square footage.

Leases are quoted on a square foot basis and leases will be longer in length (~5 years).