However, any money saved from sweat equity can be used for additional improvements or used to reduce your loan balance. 

Lithium batteries on power tools.

The only time I've consistently seen banks willing to go IO, especially in "weird" markets like right now, is when there is capital improvement in the plan. 

Some great ideas on improving my ad which I will adopt, thank you! 

Need to know what it was purchased for, how much was depreciated, improvements, etc.

It may work as a complementary strategy in which I can slowly improve my primary residence, buying slightly larger each time and renting the properties I move out of, but my concern is that if I'm intentionally selecting nicer houses for myself, will I leave a trail of negative cash flow behind me?

For those homes, so much needed to be done with them that I did not check into low-e or argon gas because at the time I knew that the double pane & vinyl would still be an improvement of energy performance compared to what they had at the time.

@Christian RojmarGoogle irs definitions of improvement vs repairs.

If they improve the sites functions then I’m ok with the fee.  

Putting more down obviously improves your cash flow, but minimizes the money available to property #2.