A friend of mine made every "improvement" you can think of and it hasn't helped increase their rent value at all.

Anticipating her question:  Since the existing mortgage stays in place in her name, what happens in a couple of years if her situation improves and she wants to purchase another house? 

Given that 5+ unit complexes puts you in the commercial real estate realm, you know will be dealing with seasoned investors that rely on the numbers to value property vs. comps.I think by buying turnkey properties, it really limits your ability to find smoking deals.It’s not impossible, but certainly much more difficult.However, you may be able to find a turnkey property that has poor management (unlikely) and force appreciation by improving on that fact without doing much else.

They usually split improvements and land.  

The building and improvements are depreciated. 

Money: - My goal was to make a home I already owned outright pay for itself and improvements.

So if you buy for 100K, improve the property and it is assessed say 150K, the you can get the whole 100K out with the loan.  

I'm here to learn as much as possible and I'm excited to see how the knowledge Bigger Pockets provides influences and improves our plan. 

Trusted Home Improvement Pros> http://www.homeadvisor.com/

Luckily, as I travel down this exciting journey, the story starts to improve.