I don't have much to say about influencing the appraisal, but I do know that a lot of this stuff falls into the category of maintenance. You're not adding size to the home, you're just fixing what's become run down.

What I do have to say is this: get a 30-year fixed-rate loan. That's how you exploit the artificially low interest rates we have now and use the debt as an inflation hedge. You'll screw yourself hard if you get another 10 year balloon.

You may want to read Peter Schiff's "Crash Proof 2.0", which has a section about how to turn whatever equity you might still have in the home into something resembling a hedge fund.

FWIW,

Jim