This only happened a couple times to me, but when I went to collect damages, there was nothing to collect from so I had to go straight to Airbnb to get paid.

I was under the impression that rates and fees were higher.

If I do seller financing I will probably only get enough to put a down payment on one, maybe two rentals but I’ll still collect a payment from the financing.

It's the impression I've come away with after a good deal of research.

Sounds like you want to keep these things and collect - double dip.

Found a few that charged an arm and leg upfront (5.0% origination fee on commitment and in some cases collecting carry before full principal is repaid along with a hurdle in the payment waterfall).

Then, open home depot site  and find out how much materials will cost.it will be a good practice.Last part will be collecting separate bids, and before you do that decide what needs to be done in specifics, like how many recess lights you will need...If you spend some time, it will be very helpful.

How about collecting close to market and using some towards "bonus" upkeep and upgrades?  

If you’ve got several units you can reasonably expect some to keep collecting rent, assuming you follow basic principles in terms of selecting a market, setting attractive market rates, seeking the best tenants, etc.

This is my passion.Not everyone want to house people, some just want to collect the rents, some want to flip, some want to do what they call wholesaling--which to me is more of a self employed situation than actual investing, although I do see the overlap.