I often times bounce questions like this off my local RE attorney first and then move forward quickly.  

They are houses that nobody wants, which is why you can buy them for the price of a used car.And you are correct - real estate does not scale quickly when you are starting out.

Here's a quick breakdown:Unforeseen Property Issues: Hidden damage, bad tenants, major repairs – these can eat into profits.Vacancy Woes: Empty units mean lost income, impacting cash flow.Market Downturns: Property values can drop, affecting your investment's performance. 

Personally I would defer this question to someone with design experience, not sure I have seen too many on here commenting.You could do something neutral but remember especially with the rug if it is light color it will likely run quickly.

I quickly figured out duplexes aren't the greatest for cash flow so I sold it a few years later and started investing in RI.

However, while I was still getting contractor bids for different projects, I found 3 different companies that are quick (based off of their contracts and guarantees) and have good quality of work (based off of previous and current investor feedback) but come at the cost of price.

Physical investing is a long term ball game, not no quick game.

The deal was a long time ago and it was a quick-close, pre-foreclosure, all cash deal. 

You'll be tagging transactions throughout the year with categories that fit the Schedule E so when tax time comes (if you stay on top of it) every deposit and expenditure will already be categorized and it's quick to create the Schedule E and/or run P&L reports any time you need to.

Thanks for the quick reply Greg.