That’s the beauty of long term real estate acquisition.  

The beauty and purpose of these loans is exactly what you stated - keep you current mortgages is place, and obtain a 2nd mortgage up to 75% CLTV (1st + 2nd mortgages combined).

However I quickly realized it was impractical as it was far from friends and work I have live here 3 years total but every time I find it peaceful and beautiful but ultimately not worth the extra 15 min drive.

I would look at the surrounding comps and see how they are decorated.

We rebuilt the front and back deck, replaced the hot tub cover/added a flipper, added more patio furniture, replaced the ugly flooring (cheap wood laminate/linoleum in bathrooms) downstairs, redecorated the entire inside, changed out dated light fixtures/fans, added small furniture pieces and decor to make it feel welcoming, added arcade games, purchased books/games/art, and adding a cabin name sign at street/on house.  

Hello all, I hope you are having a beautiful day.

Beautiful work @Garfield McHumphries-  Looks like you created a Chicago Gem. 

Kitchen would be beautiful but lacking a bit on the storage side (pantry is on the wall I'd remove)...

Dean - welcome to beautiful Jacksonville! 

However, while I was succumbing to shiny object syndrome (admiring the fancy new kitchen, new hardware, and beautifully tiled bathrooms), my agent was crawling around in the basement crawlspaces, collecting cobwebs and assessing the plumbing.