I added value in 2 ways, by remodeling the home, and letting time provide me with rental appreciation, so by the time I was ready to move on, the rents in the neighborhood had gone up substantially.

We did a light remodel and posted it for sale based on what other comps sold quickly for in 2023.Very little interest so we've continually lowered the price.

My wife and I postponed it to get our current property remodeled, rented, and cash-out financing completed. 

What I do to decide if I am going to remodel/update the property is pull a list of rentals with in a mile and see what they are renting for un remodeled vs remodeled or partially remodeled to see if it makes sense to put more money into the property.

When we bought ours we had to kick out all kinds of problem tenants, but we remodeled them nicely and are very strict on the type of tenants we allow so everyone feels safe and comfortable living there.

However, by doing so, it reduced my cost of living by over $600 a month, and I was able to purchase a fully remodeled property that allowed me to market to the highest quality tenants in the area, and I had a 2 year lease signed before my first mortgage payment was due.  

I don’t have a contractor in Ohio but I understand remodeling myself & can build a team or hire a contractor.

We were in Sunriver OR a few years back and built a few homes, remodeled, but prices just skyrocketed and was too hard to find land. 

So lets break it downPropertiesA - Usually brand new or completely remodeled. 

The former primary ended up renting in 4 days $1,000 over the mortgage.With our HELC teaser rate of 3.75% we were paying about $160 a month in interest on the total we ended up drawing (used HELC for pool resurface and shower remodel).