How much detail are you wanting:In Renovations, this can be anywhere from $30k to $500k, depending on properties needs, scope of work, scale of finishes, access to labor, etc.

Check out The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods before spending any money on a Cleveland rental property.

We are looking into houses on the lower end of the scale at first to get started for a "low risk" (we could pay mortgage out of pocket no problem even if property is vacant for 30 years) house that will give us the experience we need as rental home landlords - and I am looking down the road at potential investment ideas to keep this thing rolling.

I like the idea of operating it like a small scale hotel as @Bobby Lee mentioned.

We were under contract for another place and walked away because of a 2" drop in the house in one corner caused by the foundation not going below grade and the owners not willing to do anything.

This is a very modest goal all on my own without any investors. with help i could scale much quicker.

If you're looking at Cleveland, I suggest reading The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods to get yourself an understanding on the market. thank you!

@Cameron Green offering seller financing seems counterintuitive to scaling.

Generally speaking, you will have better economy of scale with a 4 plex than a 2 plex.

For example we largely scaled our portfolio with conventional loans, but when considering our overall application for a new conventional loan we don't get flooded with details on the other properties because it's incorporated into a business entity.