What scares me with condo's is the lack of control over choosing when to sink money into large building upgrades like roof and exterior as that is controlled by the strata (I think thats the same as HOA fees in the States).

The lender decides if they want a full inspection appraisal or a drive by.If the property has a lot of upgrades, or otoh is in poor condition, they should not be requesting a driveby.

In addition, we did so many upgrades to that house that the market value increase significantly in the area.  

My list - get a septic upgrade quote, get a renovation quote, negotiate with seller, find the money... what am I missing?

Any cosmetic upgrades you can make would be huge.  

As a value add investor I'm looking to increase the value through operational improvements and physical upgrades/repairs so I can refinance or sell at a much higher price that it was purchasedMom & pop.

Also, purchase price may be low enough that if it is in rougher condition you have more room in your budget to upgrade and raise rent even more.

The house is in good shape and shouldn't need any cap ex upgrades for at least 5 years. 

We made minimum upgrades and began to out.rent it What was the outcome?

We would like to give him 10% down, $18K, and then have him give us up to 6 months to make upgrades and get the ARV even higher than it is before we do our final financing.