Repairs made while the property is your primary residence are not deductible, but improvements can increase your cost basis, reducing future capital gains tax when you sell.

Keep in mind, adding "cute", and upgrading things won't increase your rent or ARV past what the market in that area will tell you is the max. 

Value and rents should eventually increase to turn cashflow positive and build your wealth.You're next learning experience will be, now that you are out of day-to-day management, how will you be able to handle the inevitable expense challenges?

He tells you to pay him $5,000 (or much more) to learn all the "secrets" that made him wealth, but then he doesn't tell you that his "secret" was to increase earnings, reduce expenses, save up and invest.

A great book on the overall subject is Jonathan Tepper’s “The Myth of Capitalism: Monopolies and the Death of Capitalism”.

But once I got the bills, I increased the rent with the tenant's approval and signed an addendum to the lease stating the rent increase would be X and the owner would take over utilities.

This would increase the benefit to where the fee would not be so outrageous that it would hinder the investment.

Despite higher interest rate environment, there's reasonable probability inflation will still continue - thus increase hard asset valuation.

Top 3 reasons owners hire PMCs:1) No time to manage correctly2) No time to learn how to manage correcly: laws, documents, processes, etc.3) They're too nice and need someone to "save them from themselves"A good PMC can usually earn their fees by better managing the property/tenant than the owner, thereby:1) Increasing owners net profit2) Decreasing owner's time commitment, stress, headaches, etc.No matter what though, you should always plan to commit a couple of hours a month to manage your PMC.

There are always ways to increase the value of most homes, but that is also a crap shoot.