You want to be really careful to not over improve, but if you can get them looking a little nicer than the surrounding properties, you can attract better tenants.  

As the area continues to turn around I plan on gradually making larger improvements, most notably washers/dryers in each unit and roof decks the units.

. - More and more of the "bad" areas are getting rehabbed, so over time, they could see some improvements.

I have a blog with some classic books (all probably free at library ) on the topic..finally, it might be worth exploring getting new efficient ac, furnaces, hvac rolled into the loan (as that is like 15-20 percent of the deal) but may be tough to do before closing....or maybe tap equity in a few years for that...best of luck

According to the American Land Title Association, the following types of loans do not have to comply with TRID:Home-equity lines of credit Reverse mortgages Mortgages secured by a mobile home or dwelling not attached to land No-interest second mortgage made for down payment assistance, energy efficiency or foreclosure avoidance Loans made by a creditor who makes five or fewer mortgages in a year And, in addition, 100% cash transactions (no lender involved) are also exempt.

NYC has done pretty well for itself and the Bay certainly has a possibility to end up like that, but one could also argue that the Bay and even SF in general has a lot more to do to make transportation as efficient as over there.I'm kind of rambling and going off topic, but basically I guess what I'm trying to say is: a seller's market does not guarantee that the price will go down any time soon, nor does it guarantee that price wouldn't crash any time soon.  

Since you're now trying to improve and resell, it would be best to use seller financing for acquisition. 

Be sure you have the time and energy for that.  

However, with the building being non performing, you need to put in capital improvements and manage the building better than the last guy so it might not work also.If you have bad credit and some capital you have some flexibility.

I've been networking, marketing but I know there's a more efficient way to do it....hopefully.