Sharing your vision with real estate professionals, local investors, or even family and friends might uncover unexpected opportunities.

Years ago, a friend of mine took on a similar challenge in an older neighborhood near Chicago..he opened up the top floor to create a master suite that felt less like a converted attic and more like a boutique hotel room.

MF with many garages to convert to ADUs, parcel splits, full on development, coop/tic with the resources to handle financing challenges, etc.To raise money in this market as a newby will also be challenging unless you can get it from friends and family.

I actually recently met a real estate agent who I've become friends with and will be helping him with some of his properties to get some first hand experience. 

Drue, looking at your family friend’s property, there’s definitely some room to maneuver here.

I have some good friends here that may be able to help as well. 

Quote from @Nathan Frost: Hi, I have friends saying there are lenders that do 5% down. 

Real estate's "gross rent multiplier" is Wall Street's "sales to revenue",  "cap rate" is roughly "P/E ratio".When evaluating markets and investments I tend to start with GRM (or lazily the 1% rule), then attempt to return a cap rate based on assumptions about costs, then I work my way to multiple years of projections (assumptions about inflation, amortization, tax benefits, etc), and if I am partnering with one of my smart friends I have to pull up an IRR (internal rate of return).I also look at regional employment levels, median income to rent ratio in the zip code etc. 

Alternatively, your GC can keep you posted on progress, but having a local project manager or even a trusted friend to occasionally drop by can provide extra peace of mind.Hope this helps, and good luck with your rehab project!

Scranton area seems to be a lot more landlord friendly than New York is, and the numbers seem better as well, Section 8 seems appealing for the guaranteed income but I will definitely take that information under consideration as I’m looking to invest in the area.