Roof, windows, a fence and some landscaping.

Just know what your tolerance for tenant pool income demographics are.Feel free to PM me and I'd be glad to speak over the phone about my rentals and some areas that look good.

From there, we eliminated most of the coastal states and less affordable areas of the country and focused our research on the larger metros with favorable demographics in the remaining ~30 states in the southwest, midwest and southeast.  

i've had a really difficult time grasping why condos are a bad option for buy-and-hold investments. that's the feeling i've been getting from the forums - and even the Rental Calculator; it doesn't have an option for Condos... maybe i'm being too literal.for example, if i buy a multifamily, i have to maintain the entire building and landscaping around it. if i choose to outsource the maintenance, i pay the premium for that.if i buy a SFH, same deal as above.if i buy a condo, i pay an HOA which, of course takes a bite out of my bottom line as well. i've read that condo associatons can be a mess and special assessments could happen - but of course i would do my own due diligence to research this ahead of time. nobody can always predict all possible issues.however, the same can happen with a MF or SFH... a roof can go bad. siding. windows... etc. - capital expenditures happen.so... how is this different than these potential issues with a condo?

While your local market is difficult to buy right now, the demographics, popularity and economy of Seattle makes it a very good spot.   

Bought a house that we currently live in, leased commercial space for our business and loved the process of commercial demographics and finding the right location. 

You may have to replace flooring, some chewed trim, landscape cleanup and maybe some other wall or scratching issues. 

rehab inside and and added some landscaping Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I'm waiting for more information from the agent about planned developments in the area, safety, demographics, etc.

Verify utility bills, verify rent rolls via leases, verify next year's property taxes, use a real and current quote for property mgmt, landscaping, etc.