Great to see you improving communities in the Cincinnati area!

I guess it's like apples risk vs. oranges risk: recently-built apartment complexes are apples and involve risk (the construction defects, the stress Class A experiences during an economic downturn, etc.) and value-add/renovation type business plans involve oranges risk: you won't probably see any construction defects, but you have more vulnerability that the renovation plan + improved operations plan + repositioning will not work as optimally as originally hoped. 

Compare this to any city and the Midwest and it becomes even more impressive that Columbus is exploding right now....we're the only city in the Midwest to experience growth during COVID-19...still retain AAA Bond ratings across the board, have a maxed out rainy day fund and a windfall of tax revenue.Columbus is becoming a hotbed of tech startups to include Olive (AI), Cover My Meds, Root insurance, and Path Robotics...Sequoia Capital has entered our city and providing venture capital for the first time in its history.Bottom lineProperties are still very affordable when compared to national pricesRents are starting to keep pace with purchase priceTop 3 landlord friendly state with no legislation on the horizon to change thisExplosive and sustainable job and population growthUnbelievable appreciation...30% year over price appreciation in entire zip codes is commonOh, and we're insulated from natural disasters...plenty of fresh water...and improving infrastructure 

We expected to achieve great cash flow for the property by improving the property management.

Some of Veterans Park and the neighborhoods to the north that back up to the hills are very nice, and day by day they are improving.

However, you can actually save millions of dollars in taxes by starting during the blueprint phase.Here are some examples of ways to save on taxes:For conference rooms in a hotel, Instead of installing regular walls, if you install moveable walls, the walls could be depreciated using the rules of bonus depreciation.For a multi-family apartment complex, changing the model of the bathroom exhaust fan to a variable speed could help qualify for the energy credit which is $2,000/unit.For a large apartment complex, installing a ceiling fan could allow you to qualify for 45L tax credits.For a hotel, if the porte-cochere is detached from the hotel building, it could be fully deductible in year one as it could be considered a land improvement.

Investors have renovated a lot of SFRs and improved the condition of the housing stock but the higher rents are putting people out on the streets. 

Make sure the improvement would make your property valuable without overvalued for your neighborhood…any comps to look at?

@Mike Kroupa There used to be a tv show where decorators were given 2k to improve the appeal of a house on the market.

However, you can certainly improve your chances at success by focusing on areas that may be better than others.