The reason not to upgrade, is that you won't get that much more income for the cost of the upgrades.  

Is there a particular reason?   

For these ultra exclusive co ops the fact that the tenants can turn down anyone for any reason is a big plus. 

I don't know where to invest, really drawn to Columbus for many reasons (some cash flow and stable appreciation)--what's been some people's positive and negative experiences in Columbus? 

I work with mainly buy and hold investors here in Cincinnati.

This is the reason homes are so much cheaper than cost to build.

They reason why they would do this is to get $4 million, and they won't have to foreclose into a bad resale market. 

The structure is mainly appreciation-based, which minimizes tenant and maintenance risk. 

And for most of my clients, they are generally attracted to a city or market for personal reasons and THEN then find a property that works for them rather than looking at general market numbers...meaning, my clients can make money in ANY market, even ones where the population isn't growing, the rental demand is softening, and the rent-to-price ratios are less than attractive.So to you, does PA mean Pittsburgh, Philly, or central PA?

For reasons mentioned above the post will not be removed for transparency reasons but thank you for sharing your experience and clarifying the situation.