The checks go to the owners directly, and he has a maintenance person and attorney on speed dial.

Hello Bezhad, welcome to BiggerPockets! 

Cosmetic repairs that don’t pose health or safety concerns are typically optional.Then be very transparent and communicate thoroughly to the tenant, as to provide a professional explanation for your decision forward. 

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Are you one of the tenants?

I've got some things to put into place before this is final, but I think it's going to work.

What I really want to do is add 15k sf to the existing warehouse.

if your doing a senior project I would suspect your best and most cost effective landing solution is going to be a local community bank that loves real estate.. in my experience most will want 50% down on the dirt and a ton of experience and a really strong balance sheet.Myself I always pay cash for the dirt this makes finding a lending partner much easier.

I have the rental properties insured with a variety of lenders and no issues with putting all of them under the umbrella policy.

Analyze properties that need only minor updates and start small to manage costs and gain experience.