My cabin is also positioned in a weird spot marketing wise, it would not do well as a short term rental as it's not fancy or equipped for family and not large enough and not the right long distance views to compete with the higher end properties.  

I've bought some pretty fancy dinners this way in the past.Either leave some temporary outlets, or get a temporary power pole if it's going to be a long-term job.

It is NOT fancy/upscale, just safe, clean & attractive.

I went 20 years and never took a vacation, or bought a new car, or even a fancy house.

I wear sweatpants and a t-shirt pretty much every day of my life, could care less about driving a fancy car.

Today, I don't believe that an upgraded kitchen/bath area and a general fancy upgrade produce enough additional rent to justify their cost - the neighborhood is still attractive to folks looking for more of a bargain on rents.

Not fancy and not high return but I already have more money than my wife and I will ever need so ultimately it will all go to my children anyway. 

In the next couple weeks I'm thinking of going door knocking on behalf of one of my clients to see if anything might pop up for them.Here's some fancy graphs from the MLS for Chicago:Median Sales Price: http://mred.stats.10kresearch.com/infoserv/s-v1/21...Market time: http://mred.stats.10kresearch.com/infoserv/s-v1/21...Homes for sale: http://mred.stats.10kresearch.com/infoserv/s-v1/21...Disclaimer: These are just for detached singles, attached singles, condo, and townhouses - I can't get the multifamilies included in this.

They compare square foot prices of solds, but don't take into account your fancy granite counters or dysfunctional floor plan for that matter and zestimates tend to skew the more unique a property is.

They don’t have to be fancy or expensive.