I suppose if the property appraises well and you can show the costs incurred you will will receive favorable financing at time of purchase and recieve your return of capital through the same financing process.

I do not want to do formal appraisal because it is too costly.

If you get approved, you can pay the appraisal fee up front..maybe $500-$600 unless something pretty unusual.

Especially starting out with little cushion money.If the appraisal comes in higher, which is a good chance if you mindfully underestimate, or the LTV of the refinance is higher, then I should be doing great.Hope this helps and if anyone has any further insights, please share!!

Depending on the type of strategy and the financing, reserves can also differ - whether it's a short-term rental, mid-term rental, conventional, DSCR, etc.In general it would be:downpayment + appraisal + title fee + escrow fee and prepaid + lender's feeFor rentals, you would usually be required to have cash on reserves for a certain number of months worth of PITI - typically anywhere from 3-12 months.

Knowing this in advance will not only give you a heads up, but also could affect the appraised value depending on the product you choose.

Typically, how much value will the HVAC and ductwork improvement add to the appraisal amount later? 

How much will the appraisal cost me?

I had a 75% LTV loan on a $193k appraisal, so we were over that $100k mark.That said, have you shopped this a bit?

Our current mortgage is 314k and we believe the house would appraise for 440k.We would to acquire another property  (or more!)