It appeals to almost everyone and will help you do more deals/sales.

I'm not a big believer in direct mail for lease-option assignments; it's a face-to-face sale and face-to-face prospecting but that's meIf the house is an expired listing, chances are very very good that it has very little equity so that you can offer two offers: you can offer a lease with option with the intent to assign and you can offer either a subject to or a wraparound mortgage purchase also known as land contract or installment saleBuying on contract for deed and doing a lease to own exit strategy I think is a wonderful way in Georgia to get started with very little moneyYou make 3% by finding a tenant buyerThe big issue with the sellers is some of them don't want to be a landlord and that's why buying it on some kind of a contract for deed is more appealing because most of the PITI plus maintenance costs are paid by the vendee If it's a lease to own assignment then the seller is going to responsible for landlord insurance and maintenanceIf you buy it on contract for deed your responsible as the owner for all costs including taxes@Curt Smith would be an awesome mentor for you if he has the time

The numbers are by no means stellar as in I just must have it, so all I can figure on the cash offers above list price is they are planning on purchasing it and trying to flip it for a profit or do the cash offer, which is always more appealing to the seller/lender, then doing a cash out refinance.

HOWEVER, if your objective is to bring the rental up to your personal standards or to make a neighborhood improvement/revitalization statement, then by all means improve the curb appeal.

This wasn't very appealing but at the end of the day I need this place done and I can recover funds faster with this project off my plate.So, I've got most everything done at this point.

I do not fall under the "if it's not broke don't fix it" style, but rather, if it is worth the investment to improve something (ie it will help appeal to more buyers, sell the house quicker, or increase my ROI) than we will make the upgrade.

If you don't you can always appeal.

Although I agree with Jon that staining could increase rents slightly by helping its curb appeal, I can't see that being significant enough to cover the added maintenance expenses.I feel that I should overall be trying to make this the best rental property possible since that is what I, and probably any future buyer will be using it for.

You have to mentally visualize yourself passing the deal.

Having legitimate rental income coming in from the property as I'm living in it sounds very appealing as a way to get my feet wet in investing.