I’m in the same boat with working, investing, and juggling all this with raising 2.5 year old!

But that's the 50k-foot perspective.I am local to you in CT - Middletown born and raised!

Once the interior was stripped and the infrastructure tested, I brought in commercial contractors to handle critical systems like plumbing, electrical, roofing, and HVAC installation.The house, built in the early 1900s, was originally a coal-burning residence.

Raising rents to market levels is a big deal and hard to do. 2.

The only thing I'd suggest is to raise your rents unless you think you're at the top of the market.

I grew up in the real estate industry watching my father raise money with a PPM for large multifamily value add projects and a developments.

New pictures, updated amenities etc can help raise your rankings.

I do an AI for REI seminar and just discovered a new tool I'll likely test out soon. 

I raised the rent to 1000 and then the property management companies all collapsed.

If you can attend local investor meetups, that’s a great way to gain market insight and connect with reliable people.It’s also smart to start small with a couple of flips to test the waters, and make sure you understand the local market dynamics before scaling up.Good luck with your expansion!