Replacing the vinyl will rarely qualify because I am sure it will be greater than 1) Lesser of 2% of your basis in the property or $10k  for a small taxpayer safe harbor. 2)  a $2500 to qualify for a de minimis safe harbor, if replacing would qualify, usually not being a structural component of a building.  

I have access to about 20k in reserves for any unexpected issues. i was thinking of using private money to fund the rehab and refinance the property.

Because of this I asked the them for all of their financial info to prove they can fund the entire rehab with a good chunk of money left over in case something unexpected comes up. 

If all your questions are answered positively, I would still have a contingency clause in the purchase agreement that would allow you to "walk away" without any penalty that is financial and before I closed I would hire a professional and experienced Inspector that would make you aware of any possible negative/unexpected things that he discovered.I would not buy a single family house for rental unless it was used as a "house hacking" loan that I felt pretty good about qualifying for it.There is only a couple reasons that could make it OK to purchase. 

This unit was old and this was not unexpected. 

It might be ideal if you get a long term tenant that is a real wear and tear specialist, one that squeezes the last useful life out of all the components... then out with the old, in with the new...Best of luck!

The median home price in this town is a ridiculous $550k+, and the town over has a median of $850k (which we are avoiding even looking at right now).We want to continue having the option of early retirement or if life takes an unexpected turn we are still covered. 

My neighbor passed away unexpectedly.

Hello everyone,  My fiancé and me are moving from NY to Pembroke Pines Fla because she just got a teaching job at FIU.    We are trying to rent a place for the first year before buying  and we found an apt that worked...

Now, one could argue that if you removed the financing component from home purchases, the market value of properties would be markedly lower, and I wouldn't disagree with that.