-StevenMy thoughts exactly....we have a property we rehabbed the year of purchase & have owned it 30 years (depreciation is done) & we just spent $36,000 upgrading every inch of it.

You cannot enhance, upgrade or improve the property and expect to be able to recover those costs if it is redeemed.The issue comes from what meets the definition of secure, preserve and maintain. 

AND the key sentence is that if you have money in the bank that will pay off the mortgage on your home, investing that at a return higher than your mortgage rate (easy when you stated your interest rate is < 4%) is actually enhancing your family's position instead of weakening it. 

Half of the kitchen floor is now about an inch above the other half.

You can then put 1 to 1 1/2 inch with the fines, versus a base of 3 to 4 inch rock. 

Plywood/OSB roof sheathing with a minimum thickness of 7/16"inch attached to the roof truss/rafter (spaced a maximum of 24" inches o.c.) by 8d common nails spaced a maximum of 6" inches in the field. - OR- Dimensional lumber/Tongue & Groove decking with a minimum of 2 nails per board (or 1 nail per board if each board is equal to or less than 6 inches in width).

Photos are a bit too enhanced but the house turned out great!

@Lucas Miller,I think they also do concrete overlays (1/2 inch armed concrete on top of existing countertop or plywood sandwich structure)

Use this figure for your roads, water, sewer, electric.Just making the following up:Road- 25 ft wide, 6 inches thick, before curbs. 

A rehab like this can get out of hand quickly as every inch of the house will be touched.