This is not a perfect science of course and you'd still want to go into detailed analysis at a later time.

We have lots of 200+ year old houses around here and, when I worked in the Netherlands years ago, I lived in a "cottage" that was ~350 years old and beautifully maintained with all the modern amenities.

But for me, the most important thing is (1) if the buyer doesn't perform and breaches, I can sue for specific performance; and (2) if I don't perform and breach, my exposure is limited to the earnest money, which is not very much.I think the modern day RE contract for SFR is so long and muddled that it's nothing more than a product of the paranoia of lawyers.

My first rental unit buys were not done using very good science, me and a friend just knew it was cheap and would make its payments.

Probably not, but by the same token, he knew that his original appraised value was probably lower than it should have been, and he was just attempting to come in around the contract price as opposed to much above it.Appraisal is just as much an art as a science, and appraisers get pressure from all sides to do the right thing...which unfortunately often results in them not doing the right thing unintentionally.They've got a tough job these days...You are confusing me here, if you are going to drop the price anyway what is the use of appealing?

Construction is not an exact science and is not as easy as most people think.

Modern gas stoves and fireplace inserts are sealed (airtight) with respect to the living space (room) and vent their combustion air from outside - typically a separate pipe through the side of the building or a centre pipe within the exhaust flue (either through the side of the building or as a sleeve in an existing chimney.The cheapest way to stop air and heat from being drawn up your chimney is to decommission your fireplace; stuff insulation in the top of the firebox against the closed damper; then tape a sheet of 6mil poly (vapour barrier) under the insulation being certain to create a seal with the sides of the firebox all the way around the perimeter of the barrier.Since you still want to use your fireplace periodically, but do not wish to incur the expense of installing an airtight insert, you could still attempt to plug the top of the firebox when you are not using the fireplace.  

And then there’s East Star, where you can get modern finishes and decent standard cabinets for $2-5000. 

I'm not totally familiar with the area, but it seems that those who want chic and modern would gravitate toward the Coal Harbour side and that those who want to live in English Bay would be looking more for rustic and traditional.

The cost wast to great to replace and bring them up to modern code.