I believe that having a business plan, formal or informal, is vitally important to helping you achieve your goals.

It's an expensive repair but vital to the health of the property. 

Whether you have that or not then the next thing is vital.

Also, it would be vital to what products and schemes are popular at the current moment among investors.

You'll also be able to see what the expected finishes in the area are, which will give you a leg up, if you are estimating rehab costs.Accurate CMA's are vital to determining your ARV. 

Don't get me wrong - the job we were doing there at the time was absolutely vital, but the accomodations were nice.Long story short (too late, right?)

I completely agree that you must put yourself in the seller's shoes as best you can to match the right solution to what they want.Here is one extremely vital exercise I do now.1) Reverse engineer past profitable transactions.2) Deconstruct, examine & identify the key elements.3) Then rebuild the machine piece by piece to attempt to improve & replicate.It's a never ending process.

The profile you maintain for all to see is what attracts tenants, promotes interest and signals vitality.

A heat pump would have the added bonus of doubling as an air conditioner in the summer {vitally important in a big old Vicky with no insulation}.

The archer (insurance) won't pick off every bad guy that tries to get in, so having the walls and moat is vital.