Routinely investors on these platforms list  appliances, counters, flooring, and updated cabinetry(facing/painting/hardware/etc.), among other things as part of their value-add renovations. 

Selling expenses are permissible 1031 Exchange expenses, which means that net proceeds from the sale of the Relinquished Property can be used to pay routine selling/purchase expenses such as real estate agents commissions, escrow closing fees/attorney closing fees, title insurance costs for owners policies (not lenders policies), documentary transfer taxes, recording fees, 1031 Exchange fees, etc.Lender related charges and operating expenses are not permissible 1031 Exchange expenses, which means that if net proceeds from the sale of the Relinquished Property are used to pay for any lender related charges such as loan pay off fees or loan origination fees/points or operating expenses such as prorated rents, prorated property taxes, HOA fees, etc., the amounts used toward these items will be considered taxable boot.Those items that will result in taxable boot can be netted together and the client can contribute out-of-pocket funds to cover the net difference in order to prevent the small amount of taxable boot.Many clients choose not to add cash and merely accept the fact that they will have a small amount of taxable boot, but for those who wish to avoid any tax consequences, they should review the estimated closing statement with their tax advisor and Qualified Intermediary prior to closing.

@Mindy Jensen I think one of the worst, was when a tenant moved out, we went to do move out and turn the home, found a dead dog in a cardboard box in the garage.During a routine inspection, on a tenant with no pets; a room full of spiders and snakes.

out of state investing is what more than half of the members on BP do routinely. just have to have common sense and not get sucked into something like a Morris invest situation.. 

It was a routine my former business mentor suggested I do, and I've been doing it for awhile now.

You may be interested in the following information where I address the subject of your questions in more detail: Routine Repairs vs.

Same, I can get over the money (though I would love to have it) but I can’t get over the idea of him thinking this is something he can just routinely do to landlords

I have sent mail and tried cold calling the owners with the site address and numbers provided. no lucky yet. but the moral of the story is that you can find properties by adding to your daily workout routine! 

Just so everyone is aware, I do routinely monitor Bigger Pockets and will chime in when I feel it's appropriate. 

What your proposing is not an issue and is routinely structured this way by many investors.