I would go with either laminate or granite, even a low-end granite - something that you either swap out in a few years when it looks rough or can take just about anything a tenant can throw at it. 

I could be wrong on this, but to my understanding if the work does not affect the square footage of the house nor the structural components, and is simply replacing a "like-for-like" type product (swapping out an old light fixture for a new one, but the are on the same circuit and panel,  permits would not be required. 

. :)It's incredibly rare that getting fancy with business entities, and/or changing them around (swapping out Sch C for S corp and giving yourself inflated paychecks, for example), within 2 years of wanting a mortgage, is beneficial. 

Hi Brandon, Apple is around the corner, but I stopped swapping hours for dollars way back.

If you want to do business travelers or medical professionals who do job swaps, then that adds a different facet to the plan.If you think you will be doing this with a property manager, then you need to crunch some numbers as a PM will eat up all profits pretty quickly.

You can take the parts from a 20 year old unit and swap them with a new one.

If I were to purchase a car I would be lucky to keep it for the largest deprecation period and then I will want a new car and then trade it in and start all over again and that would be a worse financial decision for me than just leasing my cars and then swapping them for something new every 3 years.

My fiance and I are essentially swapping the roles we've played the past few years.

There is a safe harbor:If your 2017 adjusted gross income was more than $150,000 ($75,000 if you are married filing a separate return), you must pay the smaller of 90% of your expected tax for 2018 or 110% of the tax shown on your 2017 return to avoid an estimated tax penalty.If AGI was less than $150k, then swap out the 110% above for 100%.

It's not a short-term hard money loan, but basically a conventional mortgage that swaps out your personal income proof for the projected rental income in order to get you qualified.