Once we valued the amenities of the lot, we'd design a basic home to determine where views would go and then place kitchen/dining area, great room or family room,master and office to use those amenities wisely.I've seen some great lots where the builder took a plan out of a "100 floor plans" book with no consderation to lot!

It tells you if it was a cash sale, if it was an REO, how many DOM, features and amenities of properties, etc, etc!

Can you add an amenity that will make a renter pick your unit vs the one down the street?

One more thingsince the first posting I have raised the rent by 50 per month which is about on par via the sq ft rate the neighborhood supportsmy apartments offer slightly more amenities then most of the properties in the area.one of my units has a dishwasher while the other does not. 

This will add air conditioning to your list of amenities.

The area directly south of UNM is the student rental ghetto (not well maintained properties).The Uptown area (Coronado mall) is another area that seems to be popular and has amenities (mall, restaurants, Trader Joes, etc).  

Our new and existing residents really like the glass tile and stainless appliances, and they're willing to pay ~30% more than current levels for these amenities.

Except perhaps in more Urban areas, which have been growing and improving, since younger home buyers don't necessarily want to commute far to work and want the amenities that come with the more Urban areas, rather than being far out in the remote, rural areas.

A community with a CDD fee and HOA tend to be desirable areas with many amenities.

If/when there is a recession, I think there is a decent chance we could see prolonged deflation much like Japan ... the Fed will try to correct this, but as stated their efforts have been fruitless and even if they use helicopter Ben's methods they still may be powerless to do a damn thing about it .... this is important because the model of maximizing leverage to acquire RE is predicated on the assumption that there will be price and rent inflation, forever and ever, amen.