Ring doorbell, Nest Thermostat, (I forget the brand but) smart wall plugs/light switches got A LOT of attention in our latest rental and cost very little.

Rechargeable Laser Tape MeasureAny brand 12 volt drill / driver / whatever tools or if he already has a line from a particular brand add on to that.

Hey Guys so most likely going to be getting a brand new construction DUPLEX close to downtown Houston, TX with a view of city off back porch with 4 lots empty next to property which are planned to build new houses on my builders so potential for equity in property looks good, but it is close to a rougher area/ some houses around are old and bad I'm trying t9 decide if i should spend the money to decorate vacant side of duplex "hoping" to rent it out to make more income then a 1,300 dollar rent because if i rented it out for $60-$90 for 25 days a month im looking at $1,500-$2,250 if i can hit those numbers, but this will be my first time doing airbnb or renting as this is a house hack for me hoping to live as close to free as possible with expenses all in being around $2,150 so kind of scared of having high vacany with airbnb or if its hard to get people to stay with the virus?

You see people say everything is brand new and i am only going to use 2%.

The reno budget should be 75k but me and my dad (a licensed contractor) are doing a top to bottom renovation ourselves and looking at 30-35k reno cost (again lucky, my sister didn't like her kitchen on the brand new built in 2015 1.5 million dollar house so i salvaged and can use them in 2 units). 

Normally I'd use 5% maintenance reserves but this property is brand new, so I went with 3%.

They recharged the freon for $160 and it was like brand new.

Newer than 1985 = 5% and Brand new homes built as rentals = 3%.Remember that the higher cashflow properties may look great on paper but with any investment, the higher returns come with higher risk.

Some note investors will treat a brand new note as a non-performer or close to it.

A number of roof replacements, multiple brand new HVAC units put in, whole house re-pipes, complete interior & exterior repaints, remodels, etc.