Same here. Got a unit with ugly black grilles, even in the bathroom window, which faces our own utility room and decided to remove. In our case no need to spend $$$, because the grilles are not welded to the window, just need to remove the screws.
I think that if you need to take on a loan for your investment property, the risk is too high, especially with all the talk about market bubble.
I also did some back of the envelope calculation and my conclusion was that sometimes your rental income will not be able to cover your installments, unless you're very far-sighted about the location.