An update / closure on this post.I decided to move forward with renting to this applicant as she met all my criteria (3x rent, no evictions, no criminal history, good references, decent credit, etc.).

If I can get a rent-ready but needs just a few cosmetic updates for the right price that cash flows at the rate I want to hit with each property to reach my business goals, then I'll go for it.

Mostly cosmetic updates and i am assuming maybe tearing one wall to open up the space.

Should they receive a piece of the rents in addition to their percentage of the selling price if I am providing all updates and maintenance over time? 

For this first investment I plan on living in and updating a single family home and then moving out and turning it into my first rental property, and then repeating. 

The issue that I have in Austin is that every house is above $320,000 and duplexes about $450,000 and they are not even close to being updated.

Purchased new washer and dryer updated carpeting.

New Roof, open up the sun porch to make it a deck. update kitchen with . new cabinets, appliances.

I’m trying to do is “subject to” deal but only for a couple months and then I plan on taking over but only after I do some updating...meanwhile there is a tenant already in place (just a FYI) do I get to write off those fixes etc?

Thanks for pointing this out, I'll be updating my leases to be more strict.