Reading will help and networking functions will definitely help your education. 

I'll get a higher IRR with less headaches and risk by having 20 doors that pay $2000/m in a gateway market, but those details are rehashing old threads.Point being: I'm invested in our market because of the long term appreciation, which is largely a function of our public policy and desirability. 

The biggest issue in the units is functionality.

Since they’re the same company now, i assume they’ll eventually merge the interfaces & functionality

@Sylvia B.They look like they would clean up nicely with white paint update hardware.Choose a complementary color for the laminate you are doing on the counter tops that will go good with the floor choice.Nothing fancy just nice, clean and functional that's all it has to be.  

All of the structural issues with the crawlspace are all related in some way, the foundation cracks may have shifted the structure a little bit causing the piers to rotate and lean and then the piers, when they leaned, maybe caused the girder to lose proper bearing.

@Matthew Shay CAP Rates are primarily a function of interest rates and demand.

Stable and functional should be the goal, though that may take some explaining to new buyers.Side note: 10% (probably closer to 20% for just material and labor) permit fee is ridiculous, that wouldn’t cost me more than $100 in my area.

I've experienced that in lower class properties priced under market, usually the tenants won't want the attention so they won't complain, but in A/B properties and especially when you are at or above market rate, tenants (rightfully) expect their units to be fully functioning in good condition.

Just be careful, because a Heloc functions as a 2nd loan on your property and you can lose your primary if you fail to pay (this is also true if you refi or do an Equity loan and fail to pay).