For example, another friend painted all the interior wood white on his A frames. 

The trustee did a premature appraisal before staging and before new paint, new carpets, new furnature, and these are the results.House is at Belmont, CA  180deg.

The HOA funds are limited and if something happens, there will likely be a special assessment; roof and/or exterior paint are the big ticket items that are near end of life according to building assessment. 

First floor and the existing bedrooms were just updated with new paint and faux paneling.

I am in Honolulu this week and looked at a foreclosure condo in the towner next to me and HOA is 1300 and the building is working fine..  2 bd 2 ba 1k sq ft nice kitchen and bath just needs carpet and paint opening bid 1.3  persona losing it only had a 750k mortgage the rest is unpaid payments taxs' insurance and HOAs must have lived there 5 years or so making zero payments to anyone.

Before I answer this question, I think it is important to make sure you know what want and can afford.For me, I wanted a property that was pretty much turn key and required minimal updates (painting or adding washer-dryer) as a buy and hold investment.

I painted my place myself using Sherwin Williams paint and it still looks like new after eight years.

Hi,I have a turnover for a property in Memphis TN, and there's a bit of extra work that needs to be done in addition to standard wear and tear, some bedroom doors need to be replaced, blinds, patching, painting, some floor tiles etc....I got an estimate, and I know everything is costing more these days but it feels a bit aggressive. 

For example, what if you decided to paint the interior dark green, which is largely unacceptable to the tenant segment normally attracted to your property?

G'Day Matt,You can only do so much with online research.IMO the online stats and demographics often times don't paint the correct picture.This especially tends to be the case for tertiary markets.Finding folks on the ground that "live and breath" the market is your key to success.Those folks on the ground are the one's that bring the "online stats and demographics" to life per se.They will know more accurately what's going on in their local market pretty much on a daily basis.I've always said that you can research online and find a market that has the best growth and cashflow potential.Find a property for a great price and on a great street and in a great area.But if your property manager or contractor are incompetent or cheats.You will loose money.So start with finding the right people first before finding the right market or deal.Just my opinion.Thanks