For marketing material, I've found most caps rates bogus.

The homes all have new metal roofs or shingles that have been done in the last 4 years.

Do you have any suggestions for reading material? 

If you're using Fidelity to purchase stocks they have thousands of hours of learning material.

@Caleb Heimsoth  Sadly, the father mentioned it in passing when speaking to the lender and they considered it the ommision of a material fact. 

(House=$50k, Materials and labor=$92k, and closing costs).

I'm not looking for direct answers, but rather someone to guide me to material that would help give me a framework to make the right decision. 

Does anyone go over their properties with a metal detector?

Of course I kept all the material receipts and paid my father and the handymen but I did not hire a contractor so I do not have proper invoices but only receipts...I probably spent around 60 to 80k for the rehab but even if I could fully deduct the expenses the capital gain would be still very stiff...A friend suggested I should reinvest right away and do a 1013 exchange to defer capital gains and another friend mentioned to reinvest through RealWealth Network.

Being a rental means you dont have to go with the highest end stuff and maybe you can source some good discounts on materials to save.