One of these was offered to us essentially for free, but it would take half-a-million to update the property(energy efficiency, modern electrical and plumbing, etc) yet retain its 1880s majesty ... we would need to cut it into three ~1600 sq ft units (one per floor), but would need to be able to sell them for ~300K to make the project worth while ... the market just isn't there at this time.

In practice that's a terrible choice.I always suggest benchmarking to the S&P 500.

Flooring, insulation and modern replacement windows have been installed.

I have some comps available but they are unfurnished.Looking at the photos the furnished apts are not “modern finishes” by any means but more eay 2000s decore.Should these bring a premium compared ro unfinished?

However, money was NEVER the motivation, it is the reward, for some, the benchmark.

This is two-thirds less than the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University’s benchmark of 6.5 months as a balanced housing market.

We use American Modern for most of our rentals. 

When I get a bit deeper into my investing career I will be diving into the niche of buying destroyed "zombie houses" (term courtesy of BP Podcast 201) and completely renovating them into beautiful, modern, and trendy homes available for homebuyers to purchase. 

An example would be a 5 year loan that will renew every 5 years at a set rate above the then current treasury or benchmark.

The periodic inspections can be the benchmark for when the contractor gets paid and knows it gets done right.I can't think of any better way than having a great home inspector on your team, and I'm surprised that it wasn't mentioned in the episode.