Has anyone done something like this before and has insight/tips/advice?

Hey Melissa, I would recommend learning a bit more about the area you wanna invest in.

@Carl RowlesI recommend a HELOC or Heloan on your primary residence or the rental if you have enough equity in either.

If you are a beginner I would recommend staying on platform.I get more scam attempts on VRBO, a lot of people offering to pay by company check. 

Also, would you recommend this strategy to a new, unexperienced investor?

We recommend RentRedi for tenant and lease management. 

Any recommendation?

It's mostly Class A properties, a few Class B.You may find the below copy & paste info useful in addressing your question:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Any recommended reading materials, please. 

Quote from @Adrian Clapp: I highly recommend you read "Am I being too subtle?"