A fellow STR host has a fancy property and some small ones, and she told me she would take the small ones any day over her fancy one. 

@Christopher Chunn Not sure how fancy you want your cabinets but I use Surplus Warehouse for the cabinets in my rentals.

I'd only call on that favor in special circumstances and I'd offer to pay them for their time (like $350/hr. or a gift cert to a very fancy steakhouse), and of course I'd be there to meet them. 

Adam nailed it.I like to find contractors who do not have the fancy office, the staff, the social media pages, the website, the nice business cards, etc.

However, the fancy apts cost more and your profits are lower.

Others on BP have mentioned it can take months for the PM to transfer the money (and this is electronically).I value experience and don't need fancy, so I'd be fine with option 1. 

When we moved to Tampa, we specifically made sure we didn't even purchase our new primary home in one, or one with CDD fees (kinda like more fancy HOA fees that are tax deductible) for all the reasons you're having issues with. 

What's the best way to dress it up? 

Hopefully a quad-plex.2) Use a FHA loan with a construction loan packaged into one ;for repairs and financing on the property.3) Hire the construction out and have a crew fix the place up to par, nothing fancy.

You can go as cheap or as fancy as you want virtually right off the shelf.