So 3-4 years down the road I would hope to have build equity in the form of paying the mortgage and also increasing property value with increased rents and over all building upgrades.

I throw in that 50k within 5 months for the upgrades in the and then get it all rented out when its all done.

-We both have great personal credit, can work remotely, and won’t mind doing some small upgrades/repairs ourselves.

After the pain free $200k renovation process (sarcasm laid on thick here) which included gutting one of the units, adding a bedroom, bathroom and 305 square feet and upgrading the other unit cosmetically.

In Cincinnati, it is common to have heat and water paid by LL in older properties, since it is one gas meter feeding a single boiler to heat the radiators in the various units.That being said, you are generally talking about expense conscious tenants in that C-ish range. 

We screened many prospective buyers and we eventually came to a deal with one them with the following numbers:Purchase price: $70,000Down payment: $6,000 (we were asking for $10k, but the buyer said they would like to use $4k to upgrade the HVAC)Interest Rate: 10.5%Loan Term: 30 yearsNo prepayment penaltiesTaxes and insurance to be paid by the buyer (total amount including in mortgage payment, but actual payment made by us)Total monthly cash flow: $664.60The buyer moved in and made the first payment on April 1st and paid early for May- off to a great start!

When I have longer term tenants, I pretty regularly upgrade items that have suffered from general wear and tear.

Even better, if they move from a "work for money" to a "work because you love it career", that's a HUGE transformation and lifestyle upgrade I've seen many people pull off after starting to invest.  

I am into small family rentals and because I bought years ago I have been upgrading to not only get higher rents but for the easy of securing top of the line rentals.  

It has been replumbed and the electric has been upgraded.