There also are going to be some banks that refuse to be creative and have a very small box and other banks that are up for being more creative, massaging their LTV, changing their rates if you will shorten your arm, etc.

Last thing, forget the classical causation for appreciation and think about this, if you can buy several properties in one community/neighborhood and restore them and place families in them, by creating the right kind of density in the neighborhood, the value right around your homes will rise. 

I would play around with changing your minimum night stays to at least 4, using surge pricing on the weekends, or using something like PriceLabs "mid-term stay dynamic minimums" to massage the booking tendencies here.

Depending on how they are done, these alterations can ruin a property, or if you are lucky, thought went into the alterations and the old doors and trim were saved in the basement, making the restoration of the real charm somewhat easier.To summarize, you really need to understand fundamental construction and either have plenty of experience to know what you are looking at, or Pros you can truly trust and rely on to adequately evaluate your opportunity and provide numbers that hold true to a high degree.

@Richie Thomas go the thrift store, Habitat for humanity restore, Craigslist route

I am a 203k specialized contractor that advises in restoration and rehabilitation of single family homes in the Philadelphia area.

I have been and am currently a project manager for a restoration company.

The house across the street from ours was purchased for the same amount as we backed out last minute due to conflicts with the  HOA and their request for a historical restored rehab which would have cost way more than the house would ever be worth in our analysis.

Hi All, does anyone have a good recommendation for contractors in Gastonia that understands historic restoration?  

There were a handful of repairs we had to make, just to get it livable.However, we bought this home to eventually turn into a single family and restore.