Tax Planning Rental Improvements (STATE: PA)

[Pixel Rogue]

Hello everyone,

While we have been in the rental business for many years, we have a new situation on the horizon and interested in pro input on strategy.
We are looking at purchasing a neighbors house as rental. The house needs some serious and expensive upgrades.Here is the question:

Live in our current home, rent out the new property.
Pros: No need to move. Write offs are simple enough.
Cons: No income during upgrades. Upgrades will take time, funds we do not yet have. Finding a tenant would be more difficult, lower rent. Overall expenses w/o income.

Live in new home, rent out of current residence.
Pros: We can work on improvements over time (on our own time, own budget.) 
Cons: Unclear what we can write off as an expense. We would need to move. 

Best of both words:  We live in our current home, find a tenant who is fine living w/gradual upgrades, drywall dust (highly unlikely.)
Next best option: We move into the new home, find a renter for our own home WITH ability to write off upgrades to new home.

QUESTION
Any legit strategies that will allow us to write off improvements to a rental property while we are the ones living in the property to do the majority of work ourselves? Open to any and all ideas. Maybe some element of timing, such as having x# of days/months to change categories, terminology? Maybe do heavy upgrades as soon as possible, then move over new home and rent out our own place? I think there have to be some strategies for situations such as this as this is nothing new.

Thank you for any insights....much appreciated.