At the simplest, just measure the outside walls, do the math and figure the square footage.

However before I do, what is this black stuff on the wall?

I would suggest starting to network where the investors hang out -- the REIA meetings.

The main wall with kitchen cabinets has the following appliances in this order from left to right: full-length cabinet, oven (microwave above), dishwasher, sink, then corner cabinet.

A much better idea: Go make friends with a good contractor who knows investing and offer him several hundred bucks to come out and give you a full, written estimate to bring the house to the level you need it for your exit strategy.Do this many times over and eventually you'll get the hang of estimates.EVEN AMONG CONTRACTORS...

As a college student I started by buying a house with an owner hold that was close to being demolished.I then rented all the rooms out to fellow students.We all worked at replacing the roof, plumbing, & the bottom course of limestone block as the walls were all limestone.Salt damp was a problem in the area & houses such as this we're collapsing on the first course of wall support.

I'm also looking for new friends in my area that would be willing to lead an ear from time to time :) and just hanging out.

Also - you'll notice we opened up that wall on the left, which was a HUGE undertaking that blew my budget by $5k alone (there were 2 load bearing walls right there.

Go to some REIA meetings, hang around the forums, read books, just expose yourself to as much REI as you can right now.

But I guess one more Twitter IPO or another 30% rise in Hang Seng can mean another 50% rise in property prices - what do I know.