You’ll want to make them feel like they’re going to be in a stable housing situation for the long term.Asking them if anything is wrong with the property and making some slight improvements is a great way to justify the increase.

The great thing about a larger property is that you can hire full time staff for maintenance and leasing and run it much more like a business.

that they'll give you the final step-up after improving and holding for 10 years.  

I really think we, as landlords, have a long way to go to improve our image….. to that end I find  stunts like the above to be detrimental to the long term legal health of being a LL.

If it's a larger organization, feel free to inquire about their staff qualifications.2.

I don't know that they spend resources to their processes/staff to make sure you loan closes smoothly and on time. 

Then ask what improvements you’ve made.

Believe me, this is the tip of the iceberg in terms of the expenditures you will put out for improvements and maintenance.

The housing market is still crazy and I'd like to hold on to the house which is free and clear but it doesn't appreciate any more if I have 100% or 20% equity in it and we have already done all the improvements to the property inside and out so no value add opportunity there.

I think people also forget the cost of improvements and property management that eats into your profits as well.