Upgrades will include new solid surface countertop, cabinets, upgraded laminate flooring, trim, and carpet in the bedrooms.  

Maybe 125 even.I am pondering if there might be a good opportunity get into this house with some creative but not complicated financing where I DON'T have to put 20% down and be advantageous to both myself and him.On the surface, I figure he prob owes about 98K on the house. 

and no one advertises they do 500 mil dollar loans.. so you now know that all of those guys are frauds .. and that there is no 5% money.if you want to find out current rates for Private/HMLI like to recommend Lendinghomes website it has a easily readable pricing matrix.. and of course they are real. while you may find some cheaper money.. from say Conventus .. you also need a lot of skin in the game and you need experience.. 

What you are overlooking is that you going to need some skin in the game...its usually called MOOLA...

Every "surface" in the house is new, with new paint, new floors, painted cabinets, new appliances.

You are possibly leveraged too high to make this deal with lender. they may be skeptical, because you may not have enough skin in the game(YOUR MONEY) some one financing the down payment is normally a no from a lender on investment property

Thus, we were a little over all-in.going forward everything depends on how many tubs end up needing to be re-surfaced.

If you have a single family home, they will already need to be on the lower end of that range, because a single family has 5 exposed surfaces, as compared to a townhome or apartment with shared walls.  

Make the payment similar to his rent so you know he can survive and pay on time .I’d rather have the guy give some money down so he has skin in the game . 

I'm very familiar with SFR, but have surface knowledge of expectations when it comes to multifamily.