If you find a local bank that will offer HELOCs on rental properties you could get a decent chunk of money to use as well as keeping your equity in the homes you already own.I recently replaced the remainder of my mortgage on my rental property with a first-position HELOC.

First, replace the faucet lock with a better one.

I don’t think wiring or plumbing has been updated/replace.

This endorsement can help offset costs of replacing a furnace during the winter if there is a breakdown.

We rehabbed both units to include redoing drywall and insulation, refinishing hardwood floors and adding LTP flooring, adding a new bathroom vanity, replacing some fixtures, andredoing the front deck and adding the back deck for separate access to the back unit.

Just curious if you ended up replacing your w2 with full time out of state rentals?

When inspection shows that roof needs replaced and the foundation is cracked (an unknown), then you either walk away or request that amount be taken off the purchase price.

I would have given them a mini-fridge or a used replacement fridge in the meantime. 

Not replaced yet by the owner.

You may or may not see the option to add a wet bar that could function as a kitchenette, and you can always ask the builder about adding that in, along with a door at the top of the basement stairs.The numbers wouldn't look great on new construction in this area, but you must consider that your maintenance/repair budget would be pretty low for 15 years: no HVAC replacement, roof, etc.