Cosmetic renovations including fresh paint, kitchen cabinet paint, stainless steel appliances, and minor plumbing repairs.

Otherwise, I personally prefer to sign a fresh lease.

I do have an agent that is helping me on the side to find deal but for a person like me; completely fresh of boat, I have no idea what to look for and extremely nervous to pull that trigger. 

This is the 2 units + 2 ADUs scenario.I am worried Scenario A might push future financing option into commercial real estate only, which will limit my cashout refi options and the future buyer pool.From a lending perspective, since a "Land Use Restriction" is required to be recorded on the Deed to limit rentals to be longer than 30 days, the property thus will not be considered a true "5 unit commercial property" and my worries in Scenario A will not come to pass, right?

So from a capex perspective, it made sense to completely replace the exterior siding (and make it insurable).

We are trying to maintain as much of a realistic perspective on things as possible, and we don't intend to go the "get rich quick" route.

Have an idea from that perspective of what will get you the rates you need (ie., number and sizes of beds, etc.)  

But the bigger take is, whether the agreed upon commission is $1,000 or 6% or $250,000 for a $50,000,000 listing, as the seller that amount is arranged ahead of time, and therefore, from my perspective, has no bearing on which "pocket" it goes into.

In determining the amount of reasonable compensation under §162(a)(1), it is necessary to consider both the amount of deferred and nondeferred compensation. 606 The Tax Court and several Courts of Appeals have adopted five factors in determining the reasonableness of compensation:...The Second and Ninth Circuits have held that the reasonableness of compensation must be assessed from the perspective of a hypothetical or independent investor, not as a separate autonomous factor but instead as “a lens through which the entire analysis should be viewed,” and requiring the application of four factors:

You will meet people from different walks of life that will give you different perspectives on real estate investing.