Although I know most sec 8 landlords use it because of the perception of guaranteed rents.As a small home builder I really dont know how they are going to lower the cost of new construction housing unless the govmit subsidizes it somehow.. basically the price of home components are very sticky they only go up. with the xception of lumber that will go  up and down through out the year..

You can also assess a dollar amount that you value the cost of these requests to be, and ask for these as a discount from the purchase price or a concession to you for closing costs. 

There were a lot of costs that we didn't expect like the plumbing had to be completely redone.

I own a duplex in Clermont, FL just outside of Orlando and initially wanted to split water meters between the two units, but the cost and amount of work were higher than expected.

Sure don't do the renovation, I only do renovations that project a return of 2x the cost of the renovation.

I’m estimating renovation costs at around $150,000.

For residential multifamily properties (1 - 4 units), can you use a home warranty to take care of the repair costs associated with rentals?

However, I still struggle to understand the art of estimating rehab costs. 

They have carrying costs.

It costs roughly $100/mo but is well worth the expense.