under mount granite or quartz counter tops.. water closet  heated floors ..

I don't think any water is coming into the crawlspace other than the plumbing leaks in pipes running under the house.   

Quote from @Jaycee Greene: Unless you already have a capital reserve fund that will pay for unforeseen, major expenses, like a new water heater, roof, or A/C unit for example, I'd keep the profits in the account until it can cover 6-12 months of operating expenses.

Separate the work into 3 separate categories: 1) Those that are specifically related to the future STR usage, 2) Those that benefit you while living in the house and have zero bearing on the future STR, 3) those that benefit both you and the future STR....assign a percentage to the usage.Be specific and complete.

Pretty often no water, sewer, power or even roads to the property. 

Please feel free to comment and share your sources, experiences, or strategies in your data usage. 1.

But it should only be attorney cost, the deed and recording fees (few hundred) , maybe a final water cert.

By improvements I mean that there is power, water and sewer/septic installed and working.

What type of MEP work are you putting into the design for getting the sewer, water, power, and internet (assuming you're not extending gas) to the inside of the building? 

It also has the benefit of being local which is great training wheels as you learn how to be a killer host.Now assuming that you mostly want a cool property to stay in sometimes near water and don't want to spend a ton of time managing I really like the outer banks in NC.