Renovate to rent and buy another

[Vincent Carosso]

I’m not sure if this is the right forum but here’s what I got. I am new to bigger pockets and this will be my first year of dabbling In real-estate, even bough I have been planning and scheming for years now. I inherited a unique home a few years ago, free and clear ( where I sort of live) on a large property for the area, and as they say, it has great bones. It appraised for 455k 5 years ago and to get it to where it needs to be would cost around 150-200k in and out. It has glass fuses and oil heat to give you an idea of what I’m working with. Similar sized homes sell for 600- 850k in good condition.

My idea is to get a loan(suggestions on type welcome) for the renovations.

I travel for work and and spilt my time between Pittsburgh, outside Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The companies I work for always give me a stipend for living expenses, I will be living in Pittsburgh for 7 months this year and want to hopefully find a good single or duplex to live in while working and use their money pay down the mortgage, and do some minor upgrading to increase value and then live in it until my contract ends . Once my house in Philadelphia is finished , I wanted to see if I could have any success with short term rentals, (because I would like to spend the winters there as that’s my slow time) if not I would place a full time tenant. My plan is to use the house in Philadelphia as a tent pole for financing the house in Pittsburgh and any subsequent houses I may purchase after that . Once the renovation is finished I would get it appraised again and refinance. This is all coming from no actual experience, but a lot of conversations, reading and late night YouTube sessions. My credit score is around 700, I have less than 10k in debt and have a healthy paycheck as a freelance photographer. I plan to continue working as a photographer at the same rate for the next couple of years and slowly transition from full time photographer into full time real-estate. Any thoughts, ideas, or leads would be appreciated. I am new to all of this. My trouble will not be in pulling the trigger, I have no issues with taking risks. But my problems will lie in my inexperience. I want to try and set myself up for success. I have a good team of people in Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia once this all starts. Because of my work and the amount I normally travel. I will need a property manager, so if anyone has leads or ideas, please point me in the right direction. What should I do and how should I do it.

Thank you!