Good luck, you got natural skills.

You will likely need to provide the following; separate exterior access, fire insulation between units, egress windows in sleeping rooms, minimum natural light area, minimum headroom.   

The Marcellus Shale Natural Gas boom will make Philadelphia the primary source for exporting and importing natural gas, especially as natural gas continues to grow, surpassing coal, as a cleaner and cheaper energy source.

I am definitely not somebody to do something impulsive, so I am setting my goal as to purchase a property by the end of the year more as a way to check my natural over-analysis than to satisfy a need to do it now.

In my market, it's all natural gas, so it gets expensive to re-pipe in order to handle the higher BTU if the existing location isn't near a larger gas line already...

I'm naturally extremely impatient so that's fine for now.   

There are groups out there that offer mentoring and things of that nature.  

Like a high tech business opening up an office down the street.If you don't have that type of an advantage, then keep your powder dry, wait for the right time to buy in the neighborhood that you know like the back of your hand.Your time will come my friend. 

Granted, this would vary depending on the nature of the repair.... but lets use the most simplest of repairs....caulking a shower and replacing a board on the deck.  

Naturally, scammer can't show them the property because they are out of town due to a family emergency.