Or maybe the house has a structural demon and should be torn down with a new structure replacing it? 

One tenant moves out, one HVAC system needs to be replaced etc.

On the contrary, we proactively replaced the AC/Heating unit and water heater.

If your sill player is rotted anyways youll need that money to pay a carpenter to replace it before you have worse problems. 

Distressed property in La Jolla CA with foundation issues and in need of a water main replacement to the street.

It is in need of an exterior paint job and replacement of siding and some wood rot.

If you need 200 square feet of drywall replaced, they will tell you what the price is to put down tarps, replace those 200 square feet and repaint the affected rooms. 

From what I understand, this is due to the ability to increase the ARV (After Repair Value) of a home through renovations and increase the home's value; then refinance with the higher ARV to get a second lower mortgage which replaces the first.Not to mention that foreclosures for the same areas are cheaper than comparable non-foreclosed or pre-foreclosure properties.However, hypothetically:If I were to buy a property, not refinance it, save up over a couple years to buy another property and refinance that, I would be ok with that.Is there anyone that has experience with buying non foreclosed homes and any details?

We were primarily interested in finding a mobile home park that was priced at a 10% cap rate (on lot rent only), generated over 20% cash-on-cash returns, had good management in place, was in a good market, and had a light value-add component.

Initially, we purchased the 12-plex way under replacement value ($380K).