For example, painting the exterior of a building might not seem like a value add because residents live inside but it's major curb appeal and it increases the volume of resident tours/applications thus allowing for a rent premium.

This SFH deal looked appealing because of the condition of the house.

I would also suggest you find a project/property that needs some curb appeal and cosmetic work with great bones for your first deal!

Having a second building with four doors instead of two seems appealing... 

Better marketing, better photography, staging, adding some other items to improve curb appeal, etc can all play a role in helping you obtain a buyer. 

For this deal we did not, another aspect of the offer to try and make the lower dollar amount look more appealing. 

Could the owner of a tax certificate file a tax appeal to reduce the taxes if the taxes are too high as the county assessed the property high

But now I’m thinking maybe $875 to brand new tenants utilities not included might not be as appealing ..but we’ll see.

If this is a rental do not paint it orange, you are trying to appeal to the largest number of people possible and orange doesn't help your cause, if this is a primary residence knock yourself out, even a flip you could take a chance on, but there is a reason most investors use agreeable gray and tolerable tan to paint everything.

For that, a short term rental would appeal to parents visiting their kids in college or perspective students checking out the campuses, which might have strong demand at certain times of year, but my guess is the real money in real estate in Chico is standard rentals for the students.