I witnessed first hand how 2008 affected us, and the workers we had to lay off.

I'm also thinking about buying a slight "fixer-upper" for less than my budget and putting some renovations into it, but my realtor stated that the only things I can do with a FHA loan are minor cosmetic renovations like carpet, tile, cabinets. 

This will help you get a better idea of what tile, hardwood, carpet, plumbing fixtures and light fixtures costs for your rehabs.#3 Contact Local Contractors for PricingCall local Subcontractors and get budget pricing for common repairs on your typical rehab project.For example, call a roofer and ask what their average cost per Square of Architectural Asphalt Shingle Roofing would be on a 1,500 sf house, with a 6/12 pitch.Note: Some contractors will be reluctant to share pricing without seeing the property, but tell them you are just looking for a rough budget number you can use on future projects.#4 Compile Your Prices into a Spreadsheet or Estimating SoftwareOnce you start to get a better understanding of Labor and Material costs you will want to store this data into a spreadsheet or software that you can use to help you streamline the estimating process.The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs comes with a spreadsheet that you can use to help you populate your own database of labor pricing and material pricing.

(New peel and stick tile on top of old peel and stick tile). 

I have another client who doesn't lift a finger, and he feels he needs to get the absolute best deal possible because he will be paying contractors to do all the work, the reno budget is what it is, and can't afford to make it up anywhere else like with sweat equity, or finding a deal on the tile, or using left over material like the previous client might be able to do.  

Soon as I purchased I gutted the old 70s kitchen and installed hardwoods and tile on the main level.

@Tyler Lay Greetings from Fort Worth!

Thank you very much for taking the time to lay it out there.Per your advice we followed up with the daughter. 

The pictures obviously show the good parts of the house, they won’t show the rotting tiles in the bathroom, the roof leak in the closet, the sloping floors, the railroad tracks just beyond the fence, etc.

If the market does this, what lever will we pull (lay-off, sell of x properties, rent for cash flow at x percent off normal rates).