To play devil's advocate (and keep in mind I have no skin in this since I'm in a different market):-You want to tailor to investors, then be prepared to sell at an investor price. 

Aside from downpayment, you want to have a solid emergency fund in place, something that can cover unexpected repairs, vacancies, or any other random costs that pop up.I’d also recommend saving more than you think you'll need and keeping a close eye on your expenses.

Or should I try to keep them completely separate to not dilute the brand of either?  

So, I would say if you want to run a short or mid term rental, keep the furniture but if you want to do long term rentals nix the furniture.

Some people use their IRA to fund fix and flip's and keep the profit in them tax free. 

Keep in mind, time costs.

They will still do the occasional flip, but mostly when a deal presents itself AND they may be between new construction starts so need to keep their teams busy.

Also, because most baseboard heaters do not have fans they only heat a very small area causing the tenants to set them very high and the heaters cannot keep up. 3rd is to check the insulation in the attic and sidewalls.

keep in mind 2.9 % or really any mortgage in the 4's was a once in a investors lifetime situation.

If you keep looking in New Britain and Hartford keep Middletown on your radar as well. ;)