Do as much of the other renovations as you can yourself if any such as painting or whatever.

view=publicIt's a 3 bed 2 bath house, almost 100 years old, and the seller made a bunch of updates to the house (fixed roofing, foundation, re-ran electrical wiring, redid flooring, and interior paint) prior to me moving in.So far, I've added a dishwasher to the place, and here are my thoughts as far as other "value adds" go, but I don't want to invest the money if you guys and gals don't think there's much opportunity for a return on it...

Is it normal to charge a portion of the total paint job, to the security deposit?

I know you think of the kitchen remodel as a "considerable cost", but often times old cabinets can be refurbished by painting them and possibly changing hardware.

Something like pink and green striped sheds, ugly art like gold painted toilets.

Do a flip that is just paint, landscaping, flooring, reroof, etc.  

Note paint, flooring, etc in most markets do not have minimum standards above safe.  

We involved his guys for paint, siding, carpentry, flooring, sheetrock, electrical, and demo/trash haul.

Refreshing the apartment with paint and a small standard cleaning is normal and wouldn't constitute taking the security deposit.

Slap some paint and clean them up sell at slightly below market - or new kitchen, bath and flooring which will cost around 50k each and swing for the fences?