While I wish we had gotten started sooner, at the end of the day you have to be ready for spending your first day replumbing the laundry room, and the other other responsibilities of home ownership.

My mate & I are helping him out with the cooking, cleaning, chores, errands, shopping, laundry, & hauling needs... but we can't do much else. 

Otherwise you'll be stuck in 10 days relisting the house, or have a laundry list of repairs from the buyer that'll cost you more than that.As an investor buyer, I'm always cash with no contingencies.

Splitting the building into a duplex of sorts may gross more money, but the sheer expense of splitting the utilities would wash any potential gain for many years to come, IE: 2 water sources/meters, rewiring to 2 electrical boxes, 2 gas services, etc.

His garage door wouldn't open automatically because the dog had chewed the wires on the sensor (not my problem) he told me he would have it fixed.Outside vinyl siding needs a power-washing, and there were a few cracks or breaks where he had hit the side of the house with his ride-it mower.  

Can someone familiar with Wash State laws regarding lead paint testing/disclosures fill me in on my responsibilities as an owner of a rental property?    

Laundry on site helps to get better, long term tenants, and we are starting to put laundry in apartments wherever possible.I would take a look at your competition, and do what they do or maybe offer slightly nicer amenities at the same price.

Not trying to get too crazy, I may replace the carpet in the 3 bedrooms & living room, allure the bathrooms/ laundry room, and extend the pergo a little.  

I called the County and there seem to be not permits for the unfinished large room, bathroom and laundry room on the ground level, but for a new slab and underground plumbing from 2005.We are thinking of buying the house and creating a studio on the ground floor and renting it out to a tenant.We have never dealt with permits, and we would probably hire a licensed contractor for the electricity, plumbing, heating, floors, walls and windows, but would do the rest ourselves. 

Gross rent is $840k excluding laundry income, which is several thousand dollars/year, and we still have another $60k upside potential in rents as some of the units are significantly below market.If we cash-out $1M and bring the portfolio LTV to 65%, put $200k into our bank account, each guy walks away with $400k tax-free.