The two walls that I had issues with under the dry wall are brick so I'm thinking of exposing the brick since that's in style, cleaning the brick, patching up the missing mortar and painting it with a water proof white paint.

Side note, make sure you vent is cleaned out. 

As with any big conglomerate online lender, they spend a lot of money on their online advertising and reviews to make sure their reputation looks super clean.

I LOVE the inserts at the one rental because they dont get moldy and are easy to clean but they are UGLY!

It has a separate 2 bedroom cottage that is detached from the regular larger home.

You could contact the brother and let him know you intend to empty his apartment, clean it up, and rent it for a much higher rate.

I'm talking about BRRRR'ing properties to the regular person...who may not have very much.  

One way to check is to look for a sewer "Clean Out" cap. 

When doing the DTI calculation would a lender include money that is received regularly from things like a Real Estate syndication, Mortgage note fund and/or other investments?

@Bruce Woodruff They have a 4 year of clean track record, so I’m hoping.