Improving the comfort and efficiency of the building is part of the deal.That said, the bigger players in our area are not quite there yet - most still seem to operate under the mode of "unload utilities on tenants" to improve the bottom line.  

You don't want to let a tenant do any improvements either as that establishes more equity.

However painting and property improvements would be added to your cost basis.

You are required to apply depreciation and capitalize repairs, if you didn't pay for the costs, and report the costs or don't report the costs, it's a false return, if you claim the costs of repairs or improvements, and didn't pay that cost, it's fraud!

Call the business lending department and ask about: seasoning requirements, LTV, lending to entity versus person.What is the problem with 6 months seasoning? 

While my current financial situation is improving, I do not currently have the ability to jump on a deal should I find one.After explaining my plan to a close friend who also lives in the Chicagoland area, he told me he is interested as well and has up to $40K to invest.

Prudential regulatory standards for non-bank mortgage servicing companies would help achieve the following goals:  Provide better protection for borrowers, investors, and other stakeholders in the occurrence of a stress event;  Enhance effective regulatory oversight and market discipline over these entities; and  Improve transparency, accountability, risk management, and corporate governance standards.

Given that she has already said that, I will go a slightly different direction:What did you do on your last deal that could be substantially improved? 

Additionally I have concerns about how much our company can expect to take from our net cash flow versus what should be returned to the investors.

You can Join your local REIA, Network, Joint Venture with others, If you know family & friends willing to use some of their IRA/401K.You've mentioned "reading" peoples post have you listened to the Podcasts here..they cover everything about REI and they last about 1 hour give or take a few minutes.For your personal life I would urge you to pursue improving your credit.