We were going to have a formal inspection done before making an offer just to be crystal-clear on what we would be dealing with, but the realtor suggested we save some time and money by having a contractor take a look to help us determine the repairs required, and subsequently how much we should offer.Is this pretty standard practice as far as "due diligence" goes? 

Purchase price: $175,000 Cash invested: $26,875 Sale price: $220,000 This was a vacation rental in the Crystal Beach area of Destin.

Purchase price: $175,000 Cash invested: $26,875 Sale price: $220,000 This was a vacation rental in the Crystal Beach area of Destin.

If you want accurate values, you need to get comps and property assess a property.As far as future values go, you take take your best educated guess based on a variety of statistics (like job growth, population growth, increase in median wages, etc) but nobody has an accurate crystal ball.

Not that I have a crystal ball, but I see a  cycle of more CapEx/maintenance than anticipated for longer than you thought that eats into your cash flow and keeps you from updating the units, which keeps you from maximizing  rents. 

I would probably polish up the brass and keep it in the dining area.Similar styles at Pottery Barn & RH sells for $$$https://www.potterybarn.com/products/gemma-crystal...https://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/produc...

I'd ask in an email just to verify since you're the new landlord.They'll either say they own them at which point they can own the repairs...or it'll be crystal clear that you own them in case they mysteriously disappear at move out.In terms of repairs/vs replace....I'd replace.

HUDs guidance on the subject is crystal clear, and is found in HUD guidance memo FHEO-2013-01.

But, I don't have a crystal ball so the best I can do is assume some level of inflation of cap rate every year.You will never be 100% right on everything...you can't.

Once you got there you can ask yourself how likely it is to get such an appreciation.The tricky thing is, nobody has a crystal ball.