Let’s say just a roof repair and a little bit of dry wall and paint and replacing some door jams and baseboards.

If the home is 100 yrs old, I'm assuming it's a definite gut which is going to require new plumbing, electrical, heating, cosmetics.I spent about $140K reno on my multi family in the heights on NY ave and there were massive problems with it but it was a gut to 3 units & adding 2 bathrooms, 3 brand new kitchens 4 bathroom reno in total, all new flooring, sheetrock , insulation, framing, doors, electrical, plumbing, paint, parts of roof etc.

We both know the numbers you used (mostly that 1000% return number) aren't practical, but humoring them paints an interesting picture about the financial advantage of leverage.

It can run long, it can run expensive, it can be done poorly, it can not be done at all, you can be ripped off. 

Keep it simple, paint and carpet, buy a good house in a quality area.

You can only use a handyman for jobs under $500 as I recall....which will exclude tile, drywall, insulation, paint and well pretty much everything.... 

Denver has a lot of older properties with value-add potential—small upgrades like fresh paint, updated kitchens, or even just better landscaping can make a big difference in forcing appreciation.

We fixed everything in the first 3-5 weeks, plus paint, carpet, landscaping, then rented it out.

If DOGE comes in and rips spending like an animal, we'll see some extreme pain. 

Vinyl siding also can warp,get cracked. get ripped off in high wind,sun will fade it and then leftover pieces will not match when you replace years later.