They often improve the house, sometimes significantly, when they purchase it. 

Then, as experience and opportunities arise, you can work on improving those returns (and modifying your goals).Don't let perfection get in the way of progress! 

I know an expierenced investor that owns many in there and he told me recently the neighborhood is improving.  

The seller doesn't want to be bother with any improvements due to her situation. 

Your depreciation expense might be adjusted from year to year for improvements or depreciable replacements you made since your purchase, but there is no adjustment for appreciation, inflation, ARV, tax bracket changes.Should I add estimated income taxes to my non-operating expenses to get a more accurate analysis of cash on cash return.Most investors calculate cash on cash return before depreciation and before  taxes.  

You might be in better shape if you bought something with a greater margin of safety built in and improved it efficiently.Good luck and feel free to reach out if I can be of assistance in any way!

Paying you back "from a refinance after we improve the value and refi out" can be a pipe dream, and indicates an existing mtg.

We've seen some good improvements in the visitor industry so far (the last 40 days, when tourism opened back up). 

Also keep in mind the intangibles of attracting higher end tenants, increasing your unit value, and having possibly longer residency stays because of the improvements you put in.

Most sellers will allow you to take a contractor through to give you an idea of the costs to improve.