- Energy Star appliances- Dimmable lighting / Eco bulbs- Cork / Bamboo flooring- Low-E windows- Energy Star water heater- High-Eff furnace- Convert fireplaces to gas- Convert oil utilities to gas- Add/upgrade Insulation- Set-up recycling bins.. just to name a few.

Wondering if an oil based paint would just soak in.Thanks, Rich

It's definitely something I'll keep on the radar.My Agriculture and Oil ETF's killed it for a year and I got out this summer (on gut and by luck) and I am glad I did.

@Angelo Caruso I would determine your reserve based on the age of the property, the age of it's most expensive limited-life components (roof, HVAC, oil heater?

Skip tile and w/ cheaper flooring... you probably could shave 5k off that budget and save the bigger remodel for when you put it on market.

I had replaced the oil boiler in a 4U with gas immediately after purchase, and when I got a call in February that it was freezing I instantly ran up there at 10 on a friday night, fearing a failure. 

In these cases, it's best to hire one on a contingency basis, else if you pay attorney fees, it's just throwing good money after bad.My wife's younger sister was killed by a major company oil truck that ran a red light.

Squeaky wheel gets the oil, keep bugging them. 

Most people who talk about those tricks and shortcuts will try to sell you on their "tried and true no money down rags to riches in 6 months method" or whatever, and they're making money on selling advertising on their website, books, seminars and snake oil but not actually real estate.

You're probably not going to end up with any cashflow, but if all the bills can be paid and you can live in one unit for under $500/month, you've likely shaved at least $1,000 off your monthly payment by renting out the other units, and can use that $1,000 in savings every month to save for the next property or make improvements to the current property and increase it's value and get more rents.The real problem with this projection is that no one has a real estate crystal ball, and far too much can happen with the economy and politics in the next 2-3 years to be able to accurately tell you what the experience will be like in Phoenix.A real easy way to experiment with this would be to look up 2-4 unit multifamily properties on Realtor.com or MLS, see what the units are renting for, deduct one of the unit's rents for you to live in, and then use a simple loan calculator to see what your monthly PITI would be vs. the gross rents.