I have found that when you do your own work efficiently and/or your own contracting, the money you save from being attentive, knowing the true costs, and being ready to do what needs to be done yourself, if need be(or because you enjoy the type of work) is easily enough to cover improved materials.

If they are interested, talk to them about improving their credit. 

The interest is higher yes, but the value comes in when we are looking at 6 month loan seasoning to get the property improved and restablized for a value increase refinance. 

The owners had massive equity in the property - and improvement/necessary maintenance negligence in the 5 years they owned it.

There has been no sign of an improvement in new listing flows in the last several weeks of 2019.

Were you advising to use the "home improvement" contract at rocket lawyer?

It's all about debt-to-income ratio and credit score, so do everything you can to improve those.

I'm no professional appraiser, but these are all 3 bed/2 bath homes built in the same era (1920s) with incredibly similar square footage and lots (1600ft/.33 acres) and same basic amenities (none of us have garages but we all have recently renovated kitchen/bath) Besides the 'hot market' that is happening in our little town, we did also do improvements to the home since purchasing it- including a new roof, gutters, encapsulated crawlspace and landscaping. 

This book is an excellent parable about how you can get journey through real estate with taking small steps and actions. 6) Set For Life - While not exactly real estate related it is a fantstically motivating book about steps you can take in your personal life to improve your finances if you're serious about getting on the journey (it takes years) to achieving financial security and independence. 7) DelREIA Facebook Page - Because you want to invest in Delaware specifically it can be a good resource for specific things about laws, recommendations, and referrals. 

Aaron, you are doing the right things by learning and improving your credit.