I've seen fancy excel analysis spreadsheets/models that churn out pure crap and make a legitimate, cashflowing investment look like a money pit that would push an owner into bankruptcy after a few months.

I can buy a liveable, 2-bedroom, "Class C" house (no fancy, no frills, just clean, safe, and everything works) in my town for $14,000 "all in". 

No one wants a fancy gizmo in a dangerous neighborhood. 

That is called OSB ( oriented strand board) and is mostly used for sheathing on the outside of the house under the siding. the problem with putting Spackle over it to try and hide it is that the moisture from the Spackle may get into the board and start to de-laminate it. if it is only 3'-4' high, you can dress it up with some sheets of 1/4" bead board, if it's the total wall you can cover it with 1/4" drywall. look at it this way, there is no way a tenant will put a hole through those walls after you cover it, i would consider having that a plus.

I've been using these, they're relatively cheap, good quality and dress up even mediocre cabinetry well.cabinet pulls

I describe Class C as "nothing fancy, but it's clean, safe, everything works."  

I would wake up early, put on my dress clothes, drive to work, and make sure I wrapped up my time sheet from the week before since it was due by 10am.

Granite is around 35-45 per sq ftBacksplash: $150 for subway tile, $350 for fancy stuffCabinet lighting $50Sink costs add up quickly.

This is not a credit card or a fancy vacation.  

Now, this guy had a great job, dressed in a suit all the time, but wasn't a very good tenant, was he?