Needless to say, here is the issue:The neighbor on one side of my property's window is literally looking right into my yard... like.. they can see me sitting on the toilet if I were to forget to close the door.

We have done an extensive remodel to create our storefront office and shop with storage space on the lower level and a fully renovated 3/2 home used for mid-term and short-term rentals throughout the year.

If you're already doing professional photos and highlighting the remodel in the listing ads, that should help with getting best rents for your local area. 

I have done a lot of design and remodeling jobs in that area.

It's still an informative post and my reply will hopefully help someone form making the mistake of starting work on a remodel before securing all the funds.

I have a rental property in Portland with a finished basement - I managed the remodel myself, everything is up to code, and it was completed in May 2022. 

My budget for cabinets is 8-12k.I am hoping to remodel the guest bathroom for around $4,000.Being conservative, I expect to spend around 25k in renovations for the master bath, kitchen, and guest bathroom.

@Samuel Metcalf- thanks   1) I would recomend getting a HELOC in place on your primary residence duplex  for  as much as  possible...this should be available for  free or a low  cost and the rate will be variable in the  8-11%  range ...prime rate +  margin of  1-3% ) ...the min payment is in interest only payment on outstanding balance   2)  use the heloc for the  remodeling  costs ...pay it down as  agressively as you can   3) on the  purchase of the investmenet  1 unit -  you are  allowed to put as little as 15%  of the price for your down payment ...the pricing you get for the loan will improve  as your down payment  grows so you might look at  75% /  80%  and  85%  ltv  options 

You're missing out on tenants, toilets, and trash for sure! 

I allow pets in all my properties but when I do my remodels, I try to make them more pet resilient (No carpets or rugs) .