I'm a big fan of the fee-based advisor structure. 

If you are asking for my preference, if the hardwoods can be sanded and restained, I am always a fan of nice hardwoods over wood-look vinyl.  

New roof, water heater, flooring, kitchen cabinets, new lighting and ceiling fans, paint inside and out, and the little details that make things look new (like replacing all old dingy outlets, light switches, and door hinges).

Just curious because I'm of the fan of doing as much as I can to save money and to know its done correctly.  

Regarding creating raving fans, that will come from performance, consistency and communication more than your return structure.  

My boyfriend is a huge BP fan, has a ton of books and we are trying to start out and get on track to financial freedom.

I'm not a "big government" fan, but being a landlord is a situation where the lives of other people hang in the balance. 

You should definitely have reserves in case you need to replace a sofa,tv or bed and you should do that immediately or you are hurting your business.I am a huge fan of STR properties and they can be a great investment!

I'm not a fan of using all your liquidity to pay off debt, but if you are sure you can get the LOC, I would be more interested.

I also grew to be a fan of having contractors come out and ask them questions about the job so I learned what to do myself.