Based on my understanding the kitchen is in fair condition and unit can be rented as is but if you upgrade it as you stated for $7,500 then rent will only boost by $50-$75 a month……or increase sale value of up to $10K – which is basically what you are investing financially and from a time angle….So there’s see 3 options at play from my viewpoint:1) Leave as is if everything is working fine and maybe do minor changes where applicable if people are still renting it like based on what you see around your area…”if it aint broke, don’t fix it”…2) Do a bit of TLC - paint existing cabinets, change handles, depending on the condition of the counter top either keep it or replace it, maybe a back-splash and only change appliances if required but I wouldn’t go for high-end stainless steel.

My question is if it is worth it for me to invest money into my current home (open up floor plan, curb appeal, upgrade bathrooms and kitchen) or rent it as is (maybe making a few minor improvements)?

In Tennessee and even in different counties with different jurisdictions, I always see piles of tenant trash at the curb.

I'm curious as to if it's feasible to offset the electricity portion of NOI and receive a boost in property value that is greater than the cost of the solar system installation.

If you aren't going to replace it up front you should purchase a curb trap key so you can shut off the water from outside yourself instead of having to wait for the water department to show up.

I double curbed with a different source after the tenant wanted to talk about his background.

Buying right is buying a home in an inner tract, not with a funky layout, buy a home that has great curb appeal (some do not even after tons of work), and the list goes on.

Curb appeal, the street, the square footage and condition have a big impact on rents. 

Check out this article on Curbed: http://la.curbed.com/archives/2015/05/every_single...It shows that even at $15/hr, it's still going to be very difficulty to buy in LA. at that wage. 

This will help you get Superhost later on which will also boost your rankings.These are just a few techniques that one can use to increase the rankings of their Airbnb listings.