Installing small things like a heat pump and insulation with new double or triple-pane windows for snow regions.

It needs to properly sized for the square foot and the sun load and the amount of insulation in the unit.

What is the insulation R-value?

You can get:-$10,000 per unit for mini-splits - $5,000 per unit for knob and tube removal - 75-100% off insulation- FREE light bulbs and light fixture- FREE thermostats- FREE Shower HeadsWe just got $20,000 for knob and tube removal at a 4 unit and $30,000 to replace this shared boiler at a 3 family we own.

I don't plan on doing a whole bunch of renovations but i do plan on updating the kitchens and re-insulating the attics and updating lighting and painting the inside. now for my questions...

For example, I just blew insulation into the dividing wall of a side by side 2 unit house.

remember payments may only be 400 a month at best.. 6 months reserves is a whopping 2400 dollars.. so someone theoretically with less than 10k in cash could get into these properties.. this William I personally think is highly dangerous for lender and for buyer... its not losing the 10k that's nothing its getting your personal credit trashed when you can't make the payments because you lost all your cash.IMHO if you want to be in the rental game you need 20 to 30k liquid at anyone time that you don't have to borrower etc.. this will insulate you from taking a loss. as you build units of course its not exponential but you need a base.And since this is not TRUE cash equity only paper equity there is no hope of selling them for a profit or what you have in them.. 

One of the principal industry concerns about the vast power granted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was that these powers were too insulated from review….The ruling sends a crystal-clear message to federal agencies that their powers are not unlimited…We would not be at this point today if government agencies were more prudent and consistent about staying within their statutory authorities, grounding their rulemakings in empirical facts, and heeding appropriate procedural safeguards…Instead, too frequently, our regulators appear to be chasing headlines and short-term political wins.”National Association of Homebuilders - “Today’s Supreme Court ruling is an important step forward to advance meaningful regulatory reform because it means that federal agencies can no longer continuously change the law – and the intent of Congress – by implementing their own interpretation of statutes as long as the interpretation is viewed as being ‘reasonable.’

Also look into if you're going to have to bring the whole house up to code if you do this, I mean electricity and insulation, and everything else that they require in brand new homes.Good Luck!

In your opinion, which would be more advantageous:  A couple of lower-priced rentals, or one more expensive investment with a larger ROI in a relatively well-insulated market?