My fiancé and I did all the work ourselves and we are very proud of the result. 

Trying to get a split level (not a lot of sqft) on the market in the next three weeks and trying to decide on whether to open the wall between the dining and living room for a feel of openness or leave it as I have heard from two interior designers that the open concept is on the way out as we are more at home and liking our separate areas in the home.Pragmatically speaking the opening of the wall will be mostly a time drain with it being a load bearing wall and having to support the ceiling while rebuilding and all the drywalling necessary.

Quote from @Megan OConnor: I am new to investing and we are thinking about a STR in Ludlow, VT.

But the decor may already have some wear and tear, the theming may be a bit dated, etc.

We have a member round table discussion on Fridays at 9 am cst.And we have a calendar of events with events from area landlord groups and member meetups.While we are still on zoom we do try to find ways to still be able to connect and talk with each other so our events are not all just another webinar with people talking at you.Hope to connect.

We are looking to eventually relocate to the States"--that's great, a lot of people want to invest remotely in a totally random market and never go to it.  

Private lenders or even creating a small syndicate with a group of investors might also be worth exploring, especially since you can point to your uncle’s track record and your own experience managing rentals as a selling point.If timing is tight, you could look into a bridge loan to secure the property while figuring out a more permanent solution.

I work in similar facilities and there is a lot of wear and tear on the property.

You need to understand that we are only obligated to whats in contract.

You really have a great position here.If your private money runs out or runs tight, then you can explore other funding options like hard money.