Thirty years ago I started purchasing and living in properties in upcoming inner city neighborhoods that required renovation.

It assumes the property is Class A - which not a lot of investors are acquiring these days.Here's some copy & paste info about property classes:_____________________________________________________________________________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?

Successfully acquiring, renovating, and selling multiple distressed properties can significantly boost your returns, but it also comes with its own set of challenges.

I would definitely start off renting most units as LTR and slowly renovate and furnish units to do MTR, having a mix of both. 

@Hiyun Park only experienced investors can DIY everything in Class C Midwest areas like Detroit, Cleveland, St Louis, etc.Hopefully the info below will help you:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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?

I also self manage from about 1.5 hours away and was working a full time job, so it became quite overwhelming especially during turnovers and renovation projects.Anyhow 5 years later and I'm still self managing from about 1.5 hours away. 

You can 100% use an FHA-203k renovation loan on multi-unit properties up to 4 units. 

I saved money for a major renovation project that is eating up most of my reserve. 

I am the lender on a property that has already been bought and renovated. 

Hey Gene, for your situation, you probably need to get a fix&flip loan to acquire and do the renovation.