I also walk through the property with them to show them where the fire extinguishers are, where the breaker panel is, and where the water main shutoff is.

For instance, if 2 out of 5 houses in the area have dual pane windows, she puts in retrofit dual pane windows.

Also one more thing, think about how a strain it would be on your relationship if your generous gesture ends up being a money pit for you...

I am in contract right now on a hud home that wasn't winterized properly so it has burst pipes and also needs a new electric panel. I

All told our mortgage, tax, and insurance payments come out to about $750 and if all units were rented out we would pull about $2000 a month.As it stands now we have one unit rented and our roommate pays us $300 a month, so we still cover the mortgage even with 50% occupancy.The house definitely needed some TLC when we closed.It was pretty much trashed, but the previous owners left a consolation prize of steaks and a case of beer in the fridge.The cleaning was a process by itself that included the excavation of about 3000 lady bug carcasses.We also gave the house a fresh coat of interior pain, re-plastered the ceilings, ripped out the old carpet and revived the original hardwood floors, fixed the roof, installed fans and a washer dryer set, and replaced several broken window panes.

You'd hate to put an undue strain on the early days of your marriage because you're living in a constant construction zone!

Although, I have an amazing, albeit expensive, property management team and a have accounted for the higher expenses in my due diligence so hopefully that will reduce some of the strain. 

When things get tough, and they do from time to time, the strain on these valuable relationships is just not worth the money.

That keeps you happy, but if he's expecting large cap gains you could be in for a strained relationship.

You should be prepared to hire them as soon as you've signed a contract or committed to work with a general contractor.Approaching the project as a built to suit (custom build) removes a lot of the financial strains that come with the building of a home on spec.