From there we were able to raise rents on renewals and improve out tenant leases to pass on more expenses to the tenants.

If you have internet connection onsite the meter has 5 year battery and you can read it remotely.The old versions basically had an outside meter in a lock box in parallel with the water line.  

Beyond the usual maintenance requests and communication tools, are there any innovative technologies or apps you've implemented that have significantly improved the tenant experience?

What platform do folks recommend as an improvement from GfH and what should I know before I leave the platform?

The simple calculation is the money that goes into the improvements does that give you sufficient return on the sale?

These updates modernized the property, improved its curb appeal, and significantly increased its market value.

With simple and transparent pricing, all pre-negotiated, they've significantly improved our maintenance operations.

"for rent by owner", investors)-search for non-homestead properties in your county and send postcards to those owners that own homes that meet the criteria you want to focus on-network with real estate attorneys -network with trustees in banks that offer trustee services-look up court records of landlords who have filed their own evictions and send them postcards -network with HOAs that have non-homestead properties in that association -when you see a "for rent by owner" sign in your area, send the owner a letter -join Facebook groups (for rent by owner, landlords) and being to contribute -improve your SEO on your website-find someone who can help you gather landlord info from Zillow, etc. to name a few :) 

You don't want your money to be lost if the property's value is more in the improvements and not land value.

Most likely scenario is that you're able to add the improvements you're looking for and will be able to refinance into a whole-property mortgage in under a year, depending on the improvements.