We updated the plumbing and electrical, gutted the kitchen and bathroom, refinished the amazing oak floors, added new hardware and lighting, and painted inside and out.

Went through nerd wallet and it gave me a great starting point.

We replaced old tile with luxury vinyl tile, painted the cabinets white and added hardware, replaced a dated eat in chandelier.

The biggest companies can roof a house for the price of the supplies if you go to a hardware store because of volume.

That's literally hours devoted to removing all the plates, scrubbing all the plates, listing the plates that are needed and buying new ones next time I'm at the hardware store, and then replacing all the plates (with outlet gaskets on outer walls). 

In addition to the services, any hardware such as a modem or router that goes along with utilities should also be owned and managed by the homeowner.

Cosmetic issues come next and it's up to you how you want to handle these items (i.e. paint, new cabinet hardware, etc). 

I have a local hardware store which I have an account with.

Some of the failure mechanisms are rusted connection hardware, crack treads, spalling from freeze-thaw cycle, and decay from moisture.  

Cut them some slack and open up your wallet.