Price, renovations, ARV, taxes, estimated utilities, prospective rents, etc.  

I never pay for labor up front, I will pay for materials (but only by calling the supply house and paying directly).I pay 25% of labor when 50% of the job is completed and the rest after the job is totally finished, inspected, all permits are closed, etc.

Basement including electric service panel, heating system, water heater, meters for all utilities etc. 

Utilizing the example above, let's assume we are looking refi in year 3 and the lender is requiring a 1.2x DSCR. 

My rental rate does include utilities up to a monthly cap.

Be sure to understand whether or not your home is under the Historic Society as they limit the types of materials you can use for rehabs.

My plan is to convert the upper half into four 2BR rental units, rent them furnished/utilities/internet included to students on a 9month lease, then airbnb them to tourists & faculty in Jun, Jul & Aug. 

I enjoy the strategies you are thinking of utilizing, Here are my immediate thoughts below.A) where your parents would like to live outside of South Pasadena.

We hear horror stories of contractors smoking inside projects or using the cheapest grade of materials and have been called to correct another contractors work (more expensive than our original bid).

This allows you to set up a weekly payment plan and ensure you contractors can eat and you can sleep easy knowing the work was done and there is not a bunch of your money in someone else's bank account that might not show up next week.Now for materials, I recommend having your contractor buy them or put together a list of materials they need for the upcoming week.