Does anyone have any tips on the best way to finance renovations/improvements for properties like this?

My plan was to buy, improve a bit (house was not in bad shape, just need some TLC), and rent out and hold at least 2~3 years. 

If they are below market rent, that is OK as long as there is room for improvement and tenants won't be an issue.

House-hacking a smaller multi-family is also a great way to get oriented with being a landlord, property maintenance, property improvements and other things, while also helping to pay your mortgage! 

We stuck it out over a year hoping things would improve but they have not. 

.--- Since the PMC process is NOT working, what are they doing to change it to improve results?

That’s the second-straight month of index improvement, and it’s been driven by — you guessed it — lower mortgage rates over the past 4 months.

In addition to setting up a website and dominating the relevant SEO, I'd add the following tips:Assuming you have sealed deals before, try to trace a profile of your audience.

I suggest a few things to help you get started: First, fill out that profile and add a profile pic!

If a market has insurance companies leaving in droves, it's probably not going to improve for a long time, and it may actually get worse.