If not, the only requirement may be filing plans with the dept of buildings.One of our contractors does the bulk of his work on contracts with NYC.Mainly work related to bathrooms & tiles/flooring, I will shoot you a PM if I can get any information on this.All the best!

Since you are new to the market, you can look at what the top rent pulls look like and cater accordingly on the design.You always want to build relationships with contractors, but that takes time and you always need a solid bench, just like in basketball because some days your starting plumber just doesn't show up and you need to bring in the backup.The rates are the rates and they aren't going way down soon so it's just part of a different metric to evaluate in your new market.Good luck!

The plan is to put the rentals in SCH E of our joint return and file with TurboTax-We live in Florida-Leases under my wife's name, Airbnb app under my name, dedicated bank account for all rentals activity in the name of both-We have umbrella policy for liability protection for the rentals-We leverage some contractors (for example cleaning lady for the Airbnbs or lawn maintenance guy) that we pay >$600 for their services in a year and they are not our employees.

Also, the ability to find good deals with an accurate budget to complete the project up front from some good project managers/general contractors.

Having a solid team around you like agent, lender, contractors etc.

Quote from @Chris Kay: @Tim Ryan nope not a contractor so definitely need to find a good one.

Try to arrange for an “open house” day for buyers to walk through with contractors and eliminate inspection problems/delays. 

Once that’s confirmed, they’ll help you submit the required permits to the Department of Buildings (DOB) and get approval from the Department of Transportation (DOT), since it affects the sidewalk and street.After permits are approved, you’ll need a licensed contractor to do the construction.

Letting your contractors (specifically if you have a GC) what the budget is and that the must notify you if a change order exists (versus they tell you after the work is completed). 

He deals with vendors and contractors.