Think a pool when that's not the norm, and odd layout, rural location, etc.  

., unusual layout, not-great neighborhood, bad/no parking, etc.)?

We also give them drawing for layouts, light placements, and kitchens.

My intuition tells me that your NPV will be better on your current rental if you increase the rent.Your other alternative is to refinance for 30 years.

It isn't something I would do if my house had strange layout issues or was the biggest in the neighborhood, for example.I just took a private loan from a friend for 80k with a minimum return of 5k for what will most likely end up being a 4 month timeframe.

I know it sounds counter intuitive but if worst comes to worst....you can try cash for keys.

My question is: since the lot is tiny, we are trying to figure out the best layout for the backyard to make it more valuable to renters.

My intuition is that the ROI for getting it to top 1% is much lower. 

It's moderately rough, (mostly a stupid layout of bedroom, bath and kitchen) but I'm estimating an infusion of ~$40-$45K will make it an attractive rental (~$1,250) with an estimated value based on adjacent properties of $100K-110K.

Intuit is a nice name to have behind it.