Here are some brands that come off the same manufacturing lines — just different paint, labels, and marketing:• Lennox, Armstrong and Concord• Trane and American Standard• Carrier, Payne, Bryant and Tempstar• York, Lux and Coleman• Goodman and AmanaAnd, most of the components that make up these brands’ products are made by even fewer companies: Emerson, Johnson Controls and Honeywell.  

The tenants talk and if one has a new A/C, water heater, fresh paint, carpet, new cabinets, etc. then there is a higher rent value for that.If the tenant leaves with the more run down units how much money per unit would be needed to get to the condition of the newer tenants units commanding more rent??

We are planning on the following materials:floors - use tile and commercial vinyl (plank or sheet);walls - velvet kitchen & bath paint (cleans easier) with either a tile base or wall base in lieu of baseboards;HVAC - extra filters on all ventilation ducts - I've cleaned cat out of a ventilator before ... not fun.On units where we have allowed pets in the past, we have required the tenant to carry a pet damage rider on their tenants insurance with us as the named payee.  

When you say just blindly taking 10-15k off the listed price, it sounds like you have no end goal in mind other than buying a listed property for a reduced price.On the other hand if you can break down the numbers to the agent, down payment, rehab costs, closing costs, what the market rents are in the area, expected expenses, and ultimatly what kind of return on your investment you are looking for it will paint a much better picture for the agent on why you are wanting to make the offers you are talking about.  

What grade & sheen paint do you use for walls?

I'm looking around the place trying to assess what it would need and remembered meeting a guy in the same complex who did a complete reno and said he put about $15k into it, (complete kitchen gut job, tile, carpet, bath cabinets, paint, moldings...the works) So I factor this into the equation.

The houses I'm looking at look like cosmetic fixers....paint, new cabinets, landscaping, etc.

Has anyone ever painted/ tar coated a roof?

Provide the lender/realtor with anything that paints the subject property in a poor(er) light.

One nice suprise I had on the latest HUD home was that the Lead report included a lot of exposed/flaking lead paint on the soffit and fasica and HUD paid 2K to have it all scrapped and primed.