Finally, The rent control discourages further development, limiting supply which results in higher rents.So rents go up, but the rent control advocates are too uneducated on the economics of the rent control policy to see their role in the rent increase.Another consequence of rent control is no value in keeping the property as nice.

Construction is mainly CMU, Concrete, and Steel (at least for my projects), and there is a bottle neck of those resources as only few supply the area.

I guess my challenge right now is to define the strategy and balance all the factors, such as job and population growth (value increase), cashflow (demand & supply market, interest rate, property tax, maintenance cost), and risk control (insurance etc). 

As to others points rents will change with supply conditions.

Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies who spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away.

Though I have not personally contributed to these investments for tax credits, I have personally seen these investments in action and these investments can help provide more supply of housing and development that would otherwise not be there.

Looks like the fence fell down at the end.For a weekend of work and a few hundred in supplies, I think you could make the place look much more appealable. 

We supply kitchen appliances for all of our units, on the SFR's we supply dishwashers because they are in nicer neighborhoods where a tenant would expect it.  

I believe if people make money and there is sufficient housing supply, housing will become affordable. 

If you do outsource, some management companies will cover various things like cleaning, supplies, etc. so look into that as well.