Income: Take home monthly income $4,000Plus: Rental Income: $1,350(75% of two rents of $900)Expenses:Less: Monthly Liabilities: $ 800Less: Monthly Expenses: $2,000Ver.13.2 NACA Qualification Criteria Page 15 of 21Less: Surplus: $ 400(unplanned & unbudgeted expenses)Equals: Qualification Amount: $2,150(maximum qualified mortgage payment)Keri Markham

I gravitate towards the side of passive investor, but I also understand that this detour could be an unplanned opportunity.

You could sell them for some money, but it isn't worth the hassle and loss of goodwill.This may feel like a big deal as a new landlord, but it is par for the course and there should be a repair and replacement fund to handle such unplanned expenses. 

Make sure you budget (time and money) for some unknowns as you will definitely run into a few unplanned thing on these old houses.as others have mentioned, you can update electric, insulation, etc without removing the plaster if you want.

Now we are trying to decide what to do with the unplanned change.

And you should always have some backup cash of your own for unplanned events.

If there are no major surprises, I should end up at $30k for repairs, with 5k left for “planned” contingency, and another 10k for unplanned. 

Unplanned phone calls are the worst for hijacking productivity, trains of thought and efficiency. 

The winters aren’t always easy on properties and there may be unplanned expenses you don’t think of if you’re not used to winter weather.  

This was right after my first eviction as a newbie landlord and tone of stupid unplanned spending on unit remodeling that was certainly not an investor remodel.