The before/after shots may not help your Aunt with selling the unit but it may help her in presentations to lenders on future properties about her capabilities as a flipper/rehab manager.  

If your investment location is in a growth area, you never know about the future development and  how it might drive the value up. 

If we do it this way, would we be able to deduct the repairs/improvements made on that side against the future rental income? 

@Tommy ViscettiWelcome to BP, and congratulations on making the decision to invest in your future via real estate.I have written a few blog posts that may help you get started here on BP, and with your investing.

While on a road trip last week, I finished Brandon Turner’s The Book on Rental Property Investing, which was amazing, Ken McElroy’s ABCs of Real Estate Investing, and started Brandon Turner’s The Book on Investing in Real Estate With No (and low) Money Down.I’m extremely interested in the concept of house hacking and the plan for using that savings to help buy future SFRs that Brandon explains in his book and that’s what I’m going to spend a good portion of my time on researching going forward.

@Jack B.Three scenarios: 1) If you reinvest- yes it is traced to that activity and deducted2) if you use it for personal use - non-deductible3) if you hold on to it on your LLC account/ books, but dont reinvest - it can be argued that you are holding on to that money for future repairs and stuff and you refinanced/mortgaged because the interest rate was super low compared to what coming in the future.

I mean you will have to report a bit of additional income, which will help you with future properties.

Further, even if you do collect as per your agreement, should the seller decide to sue you in the future, you will lose for the same reason. 

@Craig MoreauWelcome to BP, and congratulations on making the decision to invest in your future via real estate.I have written a few blog posts that may help you get started here on BP, and with your investing.

I've just started to scratch the surface of the vast amount of resources available here, and I am very excited to meet all of my future friends here in the BP community!