No shortage of reasons to believe rents are going up (some places only by the rent controlled allowed amount).So you have obtained the sweat equity. 

After much sweat equity and about 10k in improvements (new windows, paint, etc.), one year later it appraised for 300K.

It was a mixture sweat equity, buy and hold and sheer luck that Nashville got so expensive my small town picked up the slack for "not outrageously overpriced" homes.

It takes hard work, sweat, tears and I assume everything in between.

I have already done a few foreclosures of right to redeem and that's how I can put "sweat equity" on my deals. 

Everyone's situation is different and your area might be different as well but it might be best for you to live in for a year and put some sweat equity in to spruce up the exterior yourself while living there.

I think around 80% of people have pets so I don’t sweat it.

Seriously, buddy, I'd sweat bullets every time I looked at the truck.

When you find a property, manage the property, rent the property and do all of the work; i.e. the Sweat Equity.

Karl B,Having bought into programs before (luckily for me at a negotiated lower level...not the $25k) I fully realize that hard work, a library, an Internet connection, sweat, and a community like BP is exponentially worth more and will help my business more than a guru course.