Utilities are OFTEN overlooked so reach out to power, telecom, gas (or go all electric), water, and sewer to make sure you understand what it would take to get separately metered services from the primary house.

I updated the electrical, painted everything, and “cleaned the property up nicely” exterior and interior.

I have a bachelors in Construction Managements and run substation electrical jobs for a living while my wife is a stay at home mom with the kids.

:)As for LTR rental terms, usually we sign a 1 year lease where tenants are expected to pay Electric and Gas if applicable, while the owner typically pays water/sewer/trash with the city. 

I currently am a resident here (so distance is non-factor) and I possess some handy skills that could save renovation costs (besides HVAC, structural issues, plumbing, electrical work).

Another example....last year on turnover, one of the refrigerators was missing two shelves. 

With that in mind, you'd also have to make sure the land you'd buy has water and electric running to it already.

Then it's simple, build the home, find crews to do the work (you should already have them basically from the prior step), excavation, concrete, sealing, framing, roof/gutters/siding, windows, insulation drywall, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, finishes, etc. basically in that order.

Typical renovations include:Cosmetic Updates: Painting, flooring, kitchen and bathroom upgrades, and landscaping.Structural Repairs: Fixing any underlying issues such as foundation repairs, plumbing, or electrical updates.Efficiency Improvements: Adding energy-efficient windows, new HVAC systems, and better insulation to increase the property's overall value.The goal of the rehab phase is to increase the property’s market value while making it an attractive place for tenants.

It's a competitive market and most of the people that get in trouble here are ones that buy blindly without actually figuring out the numbers, etc.You'd be surprised the number of times I get asked after month one if their electric bill of $xxx or whatever is normal, and the thought running through my head is "how did you not  check things like that before you committed half a million dollars to something?"