For investment real estate, besides the quality of real estate itself, such as location, construction, layout etc, liquidity is the key. 

The quality of life and time I could have spent with family and friends was instead spent laboring at my house being miserable and resenting the house in the end for what it took away from us.

Do you care about appreciation and house quality or do you just want "cashflow" properties? 

For example, when I buy a building in a "C" area, I renovate it to "B" or even "A" level quality.

Do some rentals just require the bare minimum improvements to get it rented or do someInvestors think it’s wise to go a little above and beyond in hopes for a higher quality tenant And better rent?

@Kristie Smith The eviction process and foreclosure process in Texas both benefit the landlord due to speed, not to say they are any less expensive when it comes to legal fees.

First, I think they would make the kitchens look a lot nicer and would in turn improve tenant quality / demand slightly higher rent in a competitive area.

@Jay Hinrichs and @Greg Dickerson, How can one find quality builders who will build for less than $110/sq. ft? 

In my opinion get a quality home inspector and pay them to go through.

I've owned and operated my welding business for 10 years now, and not having quality people in your corner, such as an accountant, can be pretty costly.