Becoming a member of NARPM and attending the conferences and all the education they offer is the best thing you can do to educate yourself on the ins and outs of Property Management.   

Can I still deduct all renovation costs from the profit in regards to paying taxes on the profit. 

Im in Ohio and in Wisconsin I was curious on how was the process for  investors who has had to utilize a company or just how the overall process went. 

I am a real estate agent who toured numerous homes on driftwood.

Is having debt not reported on credit is your priority?

Have a vendor list to keep tabs on costs.

The 70% rule is more like a heuristic, depending on the property you should go lower or higher on the offer.

the market is unforgiving right now, and if you buy a random property by looking on Zillow and turn it over to people you don't know to manage, you'll lose money.with respect to your specific question, if the property is safe, clean, and priced correctly, it will rent. but that doesn't mean you'll make money on it. 

Which strategy would be the most suitable to begin with, focusing on long-term growth?

So that was a low hurdle to improve on.