IE: The kitchen is utterly gross and 65 years old, but technically it is a complete & functional kitchen with no glaring health/safety hazards, etc...

Also what to do in the kitchen?

Purchase price 147KListed for 299K, sold for 285 (went under contract for 290 but dropped it another 5K at buyer request after the appraisal just to get out of the deal)Home Depot credit card: 10K (appliances, fixtures and other things we picked out and purchased ourselves rather than having GC use typical builder grade stuff, also husband did some of the work himself so bought his own materials)Brought 40K of our own cash to the closing table, loan total when paid back was 185 (original loan 175 plus 10K in accrued interest, 12 month balloon loan so we did not have to make payments during the rehab, which helped a lot with cash flow, also loan had rehab costs folded in so for the most part we paid our guys out of the loan and not our own pockets)So (numbers are round): 285 sale price - 185 (loan payback) - 40 (cash we brought to closing) - 10 (Home Depot card) - 10 (closing costs) = 40K profitWork done: insulation and vinyl siding (this ate 18K of rehab budget but was unavoidable as cedar shakes were disintegrating), converted to natural gas heat (ducts already in place, changed out electric hot air blower to gas one and gas company ran the gas from the street for free), replaced AC compressor, new water heater, two new bathrooms, replacement windows, new appliances but left the wood cabinets b/c they were in perfect condition and I could not justify painting/replacing them, new kitchen backsplash, removed wall between kitchen and dining room, wood laminate flooring throughout except for new carpet in downstairs den, painted the deck/railings, new garage doors, one new slider, all solid wood interior panel doors, of course fresh paint and new light fixtures throughout.dining roomThere was moisture damage downstairs from bank not winterizing and pipes bursting...thanks, bank.Hauled out enormous old woodstove and broke up ugly old hearth and left good flue for someone to add new pellet or woodstove to if they want to, we figured not everyone wants a woodstove and this way the buyer can decide to add one back if desiredBathroom off downstairs den, chose a walk in shower for variety, hosing off dog or muddy children, disabled access, etc. 

Guys can be hanging cabs in the kitchen- on top of a tile floor while the flooring guys are installing laminated hardwoods.

They routinely turned off pool equipment against the lease, they secured the yards irrigation system (we just had the entire front yard done right before they moved in), 3 foot tall weeds in the front yard, and let brown widows infest the back yard. 

In this Spreadsheet I am comparing: OPTION: 1 Conventional Financing for "Buy & Hold" for a Rental  vsOPTION: 2 using "Subject To" and Reselling to a Tenant Buyer OPTION: 1 As a Rental, the Kitchen and Bathrooms needed updating requiring about $5,000 of work in order to be ready to be a Rental.

Expected renovations include: new windows, new flooring (carpet throughout mostly but a few rooms have hard wood), new paint throughout, landscaping/small patio work in back and stone work along steps and walk way, new light fixtures and other cosmetic items, possibly some repair to the slate roof and new kitchen (new cabinets, flooring and appliances).    

Jake,I would try calling a Bio Hazard/clean up crew in your area to come in and access, they have the equipment and chemicals to clean up after a death etc, pets ...

To date, we have been buying mostly Pentair equipment, and loading the Pentair Screenlogic app onto a tablet that stays at the house, so renters can toggle from Pool to Spa mode, and adjust the Spa temperature. 

I plan to sell a home this summer after the tenant moves out and I update the kitchen.