Anxious Newbie looking for resources and tips

[Chloe Bowman]

Hello everybody! My husband and I are just getting our toes wet with our first investment property...which happens to be grandma's house! Grandma passed away a couple months ago and we are able to purchase the home probably 30% below market value. It needs some remodeling but it completely livable, besides the wallpaper ;) The home is in a quiet neighborhood on a corner lot across from an elementary school.

We have gone back and forth on whether or not we should buy, fix, and hold to rent or flip for a quick profit. We live in Rochester, MN home of the Mayo Clinic where every spring hundreds of new doctors show up looking for rental properties while they complete their residencies. Mayo is about to explode in the next 5 years, our city expected to double its population, and we are hoping to capitalize on this, of course!

I would like to take a LOC on our home (which is paid for) and purchase grandma's, make the updates, and then refinance with a long term mortgage...what are your thoughts on this? We have never had a mortgage so this is ALL new to us. Ideally, over time, I'd like to purchase enough properties to generate a reliable income as well as secure some retirement/vacation home $$$.

Looking for tips and tricks here, friends. Anything you wish you had known? People you wish you had spoken to? Resources you wish you had when you started?