I am thinking of adding solar panels (owned not leased) to the property to improve value. 

Use the upgrades however do not expect shingles of any quality to realistically last 35/40 years. 25 year shingles will safely last 15 years depending on the climate, attic ventilation, direction roof is facing etc. 40 year might last 25 but that may be a stretch.Metal would be preferred longevity wise however cost prohibitive for a rental.

That said, here's my short input: Richmond has generally been a crappy city in the past (note: not the surrounding areas), however they've put a lot of effort into improving over the past 15 or so years and it's apparently a happening city.

I keep everything in the account and allow it to grow for the next investment or property improvements.

The bigger upside than cash flow is actually appreciation...not from market appreciation but by increasing revenue and NOI and making improvements.

If it is a more conservative core or core plus strategy (i.e. no or little improvements to the property), then the majority of the return is going to be from income.

If the improvements you mentioned are correct, raise rents and extra parking, then it looks pretty decent to me.

If you want to get your hands "dirty" and you like improving things, then go into flipping.

I'm totally ok with the idea of not improving my standard of living substantially, now, though. 5 years down the road I might crave those upgrades more, though.I don't think you're looking at it wrong.

We've been doing ST Rentals for 4 years and over the course of those 4 years I personally feel AirBnB is continually improving and VRBO's platform is getting less user friendly and they are always finding clever ways to add fees on the user and the guest.