Crazy stuff!

that is, how long will it take you to break even in interest savings vs the cost of the refi (make sure you compare with actual costs and don't include the prepay/escrow stuff). 

In the meantime, I had to urgently travel internationally and expected to be out of pocket for a month or so.

It is a tough market these days, but you can still find good stuff

Pest control is a biggie, too.I married a first gen immigrant, and while we were dating, he lived in grad student housing that was mostly occupied by international students, and I also had friends growing up living in married student housing at another major university. 

Grass lawns will be a thing of the past already happening in Vegas  buy stock in a company that makes artificial turf they are going to have a field day in the coming years.. that stuff has been massively upgraded.. we even used it on the South side of Chicago recently its darn near Hood proof as well. 

But you can't just remove their stuff. 

If the loans are government they may not be cancelled.Check for any leased stuff on the house, often solar panels. 

The military will move your “stuff” free coming and going overseas.  

It's really best to have someone put their eyes on it, even then you're still guessing a bit until you get into it.....any veteran Contr can ballpark stuff all day long, but it's kinda worthless IMO...if you're 20% off on a $500k deal, that's $100,000......