But it seems would be difficult to get enough value from forced appreciation just by bringing elements of the house up to date like kitchens and bathrooms, etc, rather than a full rehab on a significantly cheaper house.

Here's a topic we don't see a lot about: is your CPA depreciating your rental property faster than the 27.5 year life of the structure by breaking out elements with a shorter life like flooring, roof, furnace, etc?

My first 1031 purchase, a ten-unit, was found to have multiple environmental court and city planning violations because the builder from 30 years ago had not followed the rules. 

Started building our core 4 but still missing a key element, a LENDER.

At that point you're looking at effort spent for $12 a month.For every 100,000 borrowed:5 %  - 25 yr - Annual Payment - $ 7015 - Monthly - $ 5844 % - 25 yr - Annual Payment - $ 6334  - Monthly - $ 527Savings of $681 Annually or $56.75 Monthlyor 5 % - 20 yr - Annual Payment - $ 7919 - Monthly - $ 6604 % - 20 yr - Annual Payment - $ 7272 - Monthly - $ 606Savings of $647 Annually or $54 MonthlyYes refinancing can make a huge difference, but with appraisals, closing costs, environmentals, you can easily look as spending 5k-8k on a commercial or 2k on a house. 

DWQ, Army Corp or any other environmental requirements or permits. 

Have a plan going in what are the key elements that make up your criteria, what are your must haves and your absolute no's. 

Like anything, education/research, relationships/mentoring/training, and experience/tile behind the wheel are three foundational elements to being excellent and successful.

@Scott Bieri Elements Financial is a local credit union.

One reason some lenders don't want to take a deed in lieu, is environmental risk.