I was raised in Germantown, and my parents are still there, although I moved a few miles down the road to Central Gardens in midtown.Good luck to you!!

Welcome Account ClosedFellow Kansan -- I used to live in SW KS myself -- Holcomb just west of Garden City - still travel that way quite a bit during the fall hunting seasons.Where you're living that's got to be a tough market to invest in - think you'll have to get creative.  

You gotta have something that no other house has. indoor pool, huge garage, movie theater, tennis court, etc...

AYB looks like a very well run REIT and I know folks who live in Avalon apartments and like their "garden" communities.

We are finding that renters really don't use much yard space other than a patio and maybe a small garden bed either.

They have to think about mowing the grass, weeding the gardens, the heat, the AC, the electric, etc.  

I redid the guest bathroom, updated light fixtures throughout the house, repainted the whole interior, updated appliances, built furniture, added a garden space and a variety of fruiting plants, and so much more I can't even remember.

The most attractive to tenants have been the low utilities: furnace upgrades, the solar PV and solar hot water, along with providing garden space in the back yard.

A good example was a 4-BDRM, mountainview, with indoor pool being rented by the PM for $400 for 3 nights with 4th night free (during slowdown there were many similiar ads).

Painting in the winter sucks for the contractors - siding they can at least do the prep work and cutting indoors when it's cold.