I also bought my first rental property in Allentown through an agent affiliated with Steel City Realty.

You must have nerves of steel. 

You would be looking at less than 3k in materials to upgrade that kitchen including a new basic stainless appliance set.

Columbus was never a steel/manufacturing town like Cinci, cleveland, st louis, Indianapolis etc, so we never had an industrial boom/retraction that left a bunch of extra "working class" housing that can be picked up cheap.. 

The economy has not held up well compared to other cities because of the decline in the steel production and heavy industry.

But my tenants are pipefitters (they can change a hot water tank), boilermakers (can change a hot water tank with their eyes closed), electricians (can replace a fuse box with a breaker box), electrical crews (can wire a 2 story house for cable tv), scaffold builders (can trim a tree with a pole saw), welders (can replace the factory exhaust with a custom stainless steel exhaust on a riding mower), construction foreman (can add a bathroom counter and vanity).

It costs ~$500/window in brick buildings, where they take out the existing steel-framed windows, the steel pans, build wood frames, install new vinyl windows, faux marble sills, and then trim using painted wood on the inside and aluminum on the outside. 

Typically A class is going to be quartz/granite counter tops in kitchen and bathrooms with nicer backsplash, open concept living/kitchen areas, stainless appliances, updated bathrooms, nicer flooring, etc.

Fyi, I’m definitely hands on, even built from ground up before, complete with non traditional building methods, (icfs, steel frame, spray foam insulation).

A mason knows damn well that a wood header needs replaced (and now with a steel i-beam) and waits until all the bricks are torn off.