Second since I am a property owner myself and also own a PM company I try to look at it from different angles.If the tenant wants things fixed it many times means that they plan to stay in the property and since they are picky they tend to take care of the home more.

I wouldn't necessarily put a lot of efforts into improving/building/spending in hopes of staying booked solid, but it is a nice 'side hustle' for a pretty piece of land to bring in some extra income while it sits. 

I think paying off a loan with a high interest rate debt and adding to the principal is one way to stay liquid within the property. 

Typically those are shorter stays as they are doing something for a couple months vs staying for the entire semester or year.

And stay with it. 

I’m trying to get a better understanding of the unlevered IRR hurdles SFR / BTR investors have for value-add improvements.By "value-add improvements" I’m referring to upgrades made to a property that increase rent or purchase value, often including kitchen remodels, bathroom updates, solar and other energy efficiency improvements, fresh paint, a new garage door, finishing a basement, adding a deck, and updating flooring, to name a few.I’ve been hearing a lot of different reactions to this question the last few months.

If you want to make it easier, look for one where it's all direct replacement meaning the water and gas and appliances are staying in the same place - less permits and less cost.

In 30 years, I have had one eviction (in NY) and the court would not grant it and they ended up paying and staying for two more years.I think the multiple owners is more of the problem than panicking in advance about tenants.

Will you stay local and on base or have the potential to be deployed?

The biggest challenge for being a great realtor is always generating leads and staying organized.