While I don't personally cover the Scranton area, my team and I work extensively with investors in the Philly suburbs, and I’m always up for a great real estate conversation.

To set the stage, I'm owner of a short-term rental property in the Poconos in PA and we use a property management company for bookings, maintenance/cleaning, guest management, etc.This past weekend we had a guest booking but when the guests arrived Friday evening the house had no running water, though it had been running fine earlier in the day when the Property manager (PM) was at the house to give a final check and leave the welcome packet.

Living in one unit and renting out the others allows you to deduct 75% of expenses like mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, and shared repairs as rental expenses, while the remaining 25% applies to personal use.

Interview reputable property management companies.

Here in the USA you need what's called a "construction loan" and it's also very hard to find a company that will insure you if you're a newbie.

Hey @Cameron MarroPersonal Loan or Line of Credit: If you have decent credit, a personal loan or line of credit could give you access to the cash you need for renovations without using your property as collateral.

I started a property management company in 2017 and am now managing almost 800 doors and 6 construction crews.If I could do it all over again, I would have spent a little more time setting up business systems prior to jumping in. 

I question if the person that has issues matching 1) knows how to feather 2) has the original paint color/code. 

Not sure if they have upgraded to desktop appraisals but if they are still doing in person appraisals , make sure you get everything (scope of work, good faith deposit, social, LLC docs, insurance, proof of prior experience, financial statements) in ASAP.

We learn to build relationships with people and companies.