The caretaker would be required to assume paying taxes and insurance plus upkeep.Both units need a fair amount of work prior to being rentable now that it’s been vacant so long.

So now is a good time to buy if you leverage your ability to put a good amount down and close...that is attractive to sellers that are eager to get out of their property. 

If so I'd do the min amount to put down.Remember when you do re-fi the taxes change for SC properties as an investment property. 

That said I would start negotiations billing back the full amount of the job to the tenant per their lease agreement and responsibility for the install.

So the amount of the refund will be equal to probably three or four years' worth of "savings" that might have been achieved with an owner-controlled thermostat.  

Unless you are doing a serious amount of volume , both from a cost and performance aspect, it will make more sense to outsource.

But for the information I have found with the amounts for the profit split and additional fees it makes everything pretty rough unless it is an all cash purchase and even then it isnt a money maker. 

@Witty WordenIt can be a scary prospect to take a risk with a large amount of your savings.

You want to have long discussions about your goals, how to break a tie when you don't agree, and you should always have the exact same amount in the account.

When analyzing a new build/“build to rent” property as a rental, what percentages/amounts are others using for:-Maintenance/Repairs-Vacancy-CapexI’d assume it’s less than than existing homes, but by half or is it safer to use the standard percentages?