(reps = repetitions)  Estimating costs is one of the most difficult aspects to all improvement-driven real estate investing. 

Recommendations:Look in surrounding markets that may not be experiencing the same appreciation in price as yours.Consider a lower price point property in your market where you could add a bath, bedroom, or other improvement that would allow you to flip it into a higher price point.Wait it out...what goes up, goes down. 

@Tony P.With the bad news out of Saudi Arabia, oil and energy related equities are very cheap.It'll be a rocky ride, and I would expect a quick turnaround, but it's an essential global commodity no matter what happens in the short-term.

And if you can charge a little more rent your improvements will pay for themselves. 

Perhaps the usage is high and with a few small fixes/improvements you can bring that number down significantly.

This property was a value-add opportunity.Can improve property, increase rents, and cashflow nicely.

What would be reasonable, would be the city insisting on certain improvements be made to bring the structure "up to code" in a reasonable timeframe, or change the code to accommodate the person and structure in question. 

There are wires that stretch between each building for Duke Energy, Comcast, security cameras, etc.Last month a Rent-A-Center truck took out a bunch of my lines - I have the whole thing on video:https://youtu.be/BafD7fb5E-Mhttps://youtu.be/C0p-5q7MMiMTheir insurance company is refusing to pay the claim because they say my wires are not high enough and do not comply to NESC Guidelines.Does anybody know what NESC is, and as an apartment building owner is there some expectation of compliance?

The lender can then order a Rapid Rescore, and within 3 days, your scores will be improved. 

If there's some specific stand out theme, such and energy efficient, or built around an airstrip or stables, or a ski slope (scratch that last one), boating, etc...