Yes, it forces me to save in the form of equity and is protected from the rent increases I was facing at my previous residence, but I turned a blind eye to house hacking because of my love of home design, architecture, and having a space to myself that I really enjoy. 

Everytime you spend money for each property, you can designate for which property it is so you can record it in your accounting software.The PM company also receives the rents.This simplies the banking and accounting but at the same time, each property is in its own LLC for asset protection purposes.

I have secured financing and I am working with @Adam Mayberry on a design now.

One problem you will run into if doing a $70K cosmetic renovation on a 5-plex in Old Louisville is that tenants who are attracted to the area and are willing to pay top dollar want the following:-Original historic charm (No covering up original wood floors, trim, etc)-Central heat and air (their own system, not shared)-Newer electric-Laundry and off-street parkingIf this happens to be the 5-plex on Ormsby, you may want to do some more digging on whether it is actually a 5-plex and if the basement unit can be legally used as an apartment or not. 

I have an eye for good design and can manage projects by sourcing good quality contractors for the best cost.

A lot of design-build projects.

Same argue you should do it every year and others claim that a correctly designed and used septic system rarely, if ever, needs to be pumped.  

I would probably choose whichever is in the best neighborhood/area to thus attract the best tenants.

Where I think this deal starts to look less attractive is:There's no depreciation on land (I don't know Canadian tax laws, so take this with a grain of salt). 

(b) Design Standards.