@Ned Carey You continue to drop knowledge frequently on all thing MD/Baltimore. 

Either way, I'm a huge fan of the VA loan strategy and I've even written for BP on the topic as a blog contributor! 

@Lina Bibikov I'm sure you'll get lots of advice here, but I've never been a fan of assigning debt to a property just to buy more property with more debt...easy to get over leveraged and kill your DTI...limit any more loans for some time unless you have healthy cash reserves or take on OPM...There is more too this...and as a side point, I think most of us would need to know more about the deal to offer an informed response.

They can install a dehumidifier and fan, also a vent. 

@Trent VickNever been a big Dave Ramsey fan myself.

Partially updated with new carpet and paint throughout... needs $3-5k in work, including hot water tank, fence, and some fans replaced, he’d sprucing.

Beds, finish level, location, .. that rent frequently.  

Link to pics: https://imgur.com/a/coVMEqKFor the cheap route, the GC suggested this: Remove wall mounted medicine cabinetMatch tile where the cabinet was removednew vanity, faucet, toilet and mirrornew doorlaminate sheet floorepoxy paint the surround, tub and all wall tile to whitenew light, exhaust fan and HVAC registerrelocate light switch and add GFCI outletI'm a little worried that the cheap makeover wont fly if I ever decide to sell the property in the future.

Both of us work full time and have crazy jobs that put us on planes frequently.  650 hours stolen from weekends here and there and one year in we are done! 

I'm a new  to BP + a huge fan of the podcasts.