Another note on construction cost, going vertical is very expensive now and would require have a great connect with a developer and a builder in the area.See what rents are in the area and run the numbers to ensure the rents will cover your costs and give you a solid return—using the 1% rule can help.

In general higher cost neighborhoods are safer than lower cost neighborhoods.

Using a HELOC to fund your first rental can be a great strategy, especially if you want to preserve your cash for other expenses or unexpected costs.

Also, how much did the electric and plumbing fixes costs?

I do not think it would cost too much to tone it down howeverI got a $10k quote (minus fees) from an interior decorator recently to redesign.

One month of vacancy has cost you $2,400.

For me the area I was concerned with was estimating costs.

Also factor in if the rents jumped a lot and if that would lead to a vacancy, which will cost you more in the short term. 

If you were able to increase the value of the property significantly after the rehab, then you could bring the deal to a community bank  to refinance and take the hard money lender out.You keep all the equity and don’t have to file a partnership return for your annual tax return, which can be costly.  

Every project needs a quote and you should be able to estimate the material costs.