White on white would need a different floor coloring so it doesn't wash out the kitchen, but a nice grey or even a soft color (think country blue or sage green) would add a special touch.

From the landlord side, cannot have soft heart.

So, I started thinking things like, how much is the cost, what are the soft costs like? 

I personally bought recently because the market has been very soft, by looking at a lot of deals we eventually found a good one, there are significant opportunities to add equity and it was cheaper than renting in my area.

Thank you DanI cannot comment of the price because 3 hours in every direction from Toronto is a different market with different cap rates..I personally think building is always better if cost of acquiring land, utility servicing  construction and soft costs makes sense.

A home-run deal is when you can create 30% of equity in the building on the 1st lease up after renovations and recapture all of your hard and soft costs to repay the capital you have borrowed!  

As you cost out this deal be realistic of the soft costs created by time.I would recommend having some contingency $ stashed even if you coordinate this all with OPM.

Final items is the interest rate volatility is resulting in market softness that could further affect the refi appraisal. 

That'll give you some "soft" landlord experience, and hopefully enough equity by the time you graduate to hit it full bore.If college isn't for you, look into a real estate license.

It gave the house a slightly modern feel with the gray and was fairly fast to install. http://m.homedepot.com/p/Home-Decorators-Collection-6-in-x-48-in-Antique-Brushed-Oak-Resilient-Luxury-Vinyl-Plank-19-39-sq-ft-case-60019/206268083?