Where I live (MA) if you don't pull the permit you must disclose that when you go to sell the house and any home inspector worth their salt will be able to spot new work.

Dip them in salt and scrub your kitchen sink with them. 

I'm a new Real Estate investor so take my advice with a grain of salt.

***DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer and do not do RE transactions in RI, so take this with a healthy grain of salt...

The first tip I will give you is to take everything you are hear with a grain of salt and dont take 'No' for an answer.You will have your ups and downs and get discouraged but if you truly want this you will figure out a way to make it happen.So with that said, I only want to touch on one thing in your post.

After that, whenever someone tells me they are thinking of going into real estate, I take it with a very fine grain of salt.

, and after a while this convinced me that putting $20k into a $100k property was the way to go, a far better bet, a more prudent, safer, better planned investment, reading changed my outlook and approach to investing in real estate , and my plans.And then, a genuinely wise and evidently experienced guy wrote one line.....“ I won’t but anything that doesn’t pay for itself within 2 years “.......And I’m straight back to my instincts, MY experience in buying and renting low price properties in rougher areas with salt of the earth tenants......I made money and I learnt how to handle situations and problems , people from all walks of life, and I enjoyed it !

Think SALT Taxes and also the 199A Business Income deduction.Then changes to Tenant-Landlord laws.Then Economics of your locality and State, which is probably the one area that will really impact your profits.

……the water softener was constantly cycling causing insane water and salt use.

I would take her statement that they've been "cleared up" with a grain of salt.