The more experienced you are, the better you can deal with these things.As real estate investors we owe it to ourselves to know (or learn) our business, get good counsel when we don't know or are unsure, and then proceed when the profit vs. the risks give us a clear green light.

My best advice then is tread lightly.

I hate shopping, but was super stoked to see the Ryobi 6-tool cordless set on sale at Home Depot for $199.I already have the drill, have already lost the reciprocating saw and light, so those are nice to have back in the arsenal.

@Joe FunariThat $2,000/year/property...so that covers small things (light bulbs, handyman, etc) AND large replacements (roof, paint, damage, water heater, etc)?

We unified the floors by doing a gorgeous light colored LVP throughout, painted the interior SW Incredible White, new basic granite countertops, new prefab bathroom vanities, new toilets, added a fence to the yard, upgraded all switches to rockers and replaced all fixture with flush mount LEDs.

A duplex runs around 80k turnkey or light renovation.

I would say the brick looks different because of the power washing,  color cast light from the time of day, and color corrections from my professional photographer taking the final pics vs. the realtor shooting it with their phone

It also subconsciously gives you a confidence boost when negotiating with your existing providers because you don't have the anxiety of being wholly dependent on them in the immediate term.

Are you buying and sourcing the big ticket items like cabinets, millwork, doors, windows, light fixtures etc yourself? 

So Baloons are not to be taken lightly, even baloons that are 10yrs out.