HI, I own a part share of a nice recently renovated house in North London, with other members of my family owning the rest, left to me in my fathers estate, with probate granted in 1999, as a tenant in common.

If you have a flat roof with drains, or a pitched roof with gutters I would ensure either way that the flow of water is un-obstructed most commonly by leaves or pine needles from trees.

@Aaron Raffaelli what did you do before this job?

You just have to be careful because some sales agents will just advise you to over improve the property because it makes their job easier.

Quote from @Erick Pena: A "good" rental property is one that covers all expenses (mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, property management fees, and any other costs) and still leave a surplus (commonly referred to as cash flow).Calculate cash flow as: Cash Flow = Rental Income − Operating Expenses − DebtThere's much more to it, but that's the basic idea.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

Do you have any books or resources out there that he can dive into to help him hopefully avoids some of the common pitfalls?

A lot of investors provide comps (residential RE) but I avoid doing it because it's like telling them how to do there job.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

Should I try to make the deck on the second floor a common space or as part of a large bedroom?