At least in the Seattle market, American Homes for Rent do not take good care of their landscaping. 

Libby,I have section 8 properties and if you take care of the tenants they will likely take care of you and be long term tenants.I would say to them I can't afford it right now but if you will give me 6 months I will upgrade the flooring and give you a few choices to pick from.

Igor Kalabukhov That sounds a lot like syndication and I would be careful pooling $ like that as it appears to break many SEC laws.

There is some benefit of HOA, but better on cashflow if not, and you take care of grounds yourself.

IRS goes by which place you spend the most time in, I'd imagine the banks would to (they're likely going to base it off intent vs IRS cares more because taxes).

I don't care about curb appeal or estimated growth as I don't plan to sell and trying to project 20 yrs out is not realistic.

The two best ways I’ve found to fatten the bottom line is via fees or reduced turnover or repair cost.Pet rent, lawn care fees, and things that breakdown due to tenant usage are my go to items.Number of bedrooms, extra features are only a selling point.

@David Fernandez Would you care to share the local lender you work with?

You will need to come up with the down payment (lenders want you to have skin in the game). 

I've kind of been an island this past year in terms of market research and I'd love to start comparing data with fellow investors. Anyone else in the Baltimore County area who wants to collaborate please give me a shout.