The loan does need to be secured by the property being improved if we are talking about a personal residence and personal itemized deductions on Schedule A.

This property needed an extreme amount of clean up and haul away of items left behind.

-When a tenant moved out, the management company refunded their security deposit but failed to account for damage, such as holes in walls and outlets ripped off the walls, leaving me with repair bills and also tenants moving in without the repairs being done.Stuff like this that is consistent and when I ask questions they are defensive, when I ask for more quotes for high ticket items they are defensive. 

Unless you are itemizing your tax return, the interest on the primary is not tax deductible.

First off, all high skill requiring items let's remove those.

Taking real time notes on deficiencies allows for clear understanding if the items make their way to a buyer repair addendum.

Plumbing, windows, driveway, etc - all big ticket items. 

Pay $2 to $4 per item.5.  

I am only familiar with the contract in my state but items seller agrees to do based on inspection findings are their responsibility unless spelled out differently.  

I could completely be misunderstanding the process, so thank you, in advance, for clarifying these items for me.