I would pay a flat fee per project.Is there someone that would be a true "investor friendly Interior Designer".  

After I purchase the property, will the property tax valuations true up to the transaction price or do they stay relatively flat?  

I have had luck through Craigslist, believe it or not but I had to do much more screening though.

It happens all the time, so there's a steady stream of opportunities independent of general market conditions You can take a very methodical approach to Value Investing, where you regularly invest a particular amount (or just spread a large sum over many months) in a small number of pre-screened stocks, with the goal of holding for 1-2 years and selling at a profit, using the proceeds to repeat the process.

I just let the tenants pay for their own  screening there. 

.* I have a 9-year-old chapter 7 bankruptcy that was due to medical bills.My parents have offered to help me financially, which would consist of them taking out a line of credit on a rental property they own free and clear to loan to me, which I would be required to repay at a flat 10% of the money borrowed (for down payment, fixed & holding costs, and renovations).  

Search through the forums by using that little box in the upper right hand corner of your screen and you fill find tons of information on FHA.

The other applicant is the caretaker of the legal dependent (and family friend), and is a contractor hired by a local company to do so (I reviewed this contract and spoke with the company during screening).

But right now it's an hour drive in gridlock traffic from Long Beach and I'm kinda tired of living in a tiny flat where I eat and sleep in the same place.

-Generate Leads-Quick Screen-Analyze Leads-Make Offers.Lets say I get 100 leads, screen them down to 50, and analyze 50 to determine I want to make 10 offers.