As someone else pointed out, the goal of a refinance after renovating a property is to get out your down payment as well as some extra due to the increase in assessed value.

but alas, I am without capital.My question is this: What type of person do I need to become to attract an equity partner to make deals and do real estate stuff with me?

I recommend you do this annually to adjust for utility increases and other variables.

We just last week sent out leases and rent increases with a schedule to get them all up to FMV by next year, which is more than double for most of the properties.

@Josh MacThese usually float with the prime rate so factor that in too, it's 8.5% currently but many offer IO for repayment which can be attractive for some.   

I've been searching for effective ways to attract cash/end buyers in the Dallas area, and I just wanted to know - WHAT do YOU, the investor, look for and what attracts you to a deal? 

Will require a decent amount of money out of pocket and would take 9 months of total rent to re-coup my repair costs, or about 2 years of the “increased” rent to pay for repairs. 

I also want to be out in the country on some land so this increases home pries as well.

This would be my first crack at a mid-term rental.I've got a property that I'd like to rent mid-term (30-90 days) to increase cash flow compared to a 12-month rental.

I would certainly ask about what your future LTV would be on a cash out loan to determine how much cash you would potentially be able to get...your property would need to increase in value considerably if you only put 3.5% down when you purchased it.