She does well and has over a year and a half in savings. 

In my experience half of the  properties don't match public records and that's in your advantage since the taxes on 3/1 would be lower than 4/2..you should always check with the county to see what permits have been pulled on the property.

Meaning how much percentage is a fair return on their money investment and should the end profits be split in half or favor the investor.

I'd say save as much hardwood as you can but make sure you have at least a half decent laminate because in the minds of a tenant that can really separate what they think is a cheap unit vs a nice one which can translate directly into monthly rent. 

For comparison, less than half of investors expressed interest in office investments (47 percent), and even fewer were likely to consider retail (25 percent).Given the challenges of the last 18 months, how has investor confidence in rental housing remained so strong?

This is located half mile away from a house I own (my mother lives in it) as well as my first rental so this would be my third purchase within the area.

He may just do it for half the price if you ask him that compared to the other two bids.Win, win.

How do I make them see that this money is half theirs, half ours, and not the LLC's money and that we should use equity to pay for the improvements? 

Since then we have had several conversations and a year and a half later our property is still registered with the City under the name of the prior owner. 

Half of CA is moving here it seems.