Look at where you stand, make goals for now and later, and kick off small to mix things up.

Do you want to be more hands off with just a TOH (Tenant Owned Homes) park or are willing to get in the weeds a bit more with POH (Park Owned Homes ie rentals) park or even maybe a mix of both. 

Please correct me if anything I say about my plan is wrong and I'm willing to learn/listen to more advices here.I'm currently living in PA will be paying off my house this year (only $20,000 left).

Because if not, now you are reliant on contractors and such, and there is a significant learning curve in this industry just around how to manage them and not get exploited or ripped off.  

Not everyone starting off gets hit with this, and if you can buy a portfolio it can "de-risk" the issue to some extent, but if you have one property and experience an 8-9 month fight to collect rent prior to eviction with a large repair bill after that it can be very painful.ALWAYS use a licensed PM in Detroit. 

It sounds like you are pulling cities off of lists, but have you been to any of the cities you are interested in investing in? 

Hi Catherine, Yes, you can refi after purchasing the property off of the purchase price.  

Now I'm left wondering whether it's best to lower the price to get the property off my hands asap or to make some costly improvements that will probably neutralize any increase in value.

Commercial lenders have really been backing off of their aggressiveness with multi-family as of late.

I was presented with an off market deal in Hammond with the potential to rehab it and add another bedroom, so I am trying to size it up as well and see if its worth it.