We have found that setting our expectations about what we want is helpful (financial performance, level of renovation we can handle, forced equity opportunities, number of bedrooms, etc) and then waiting for a deal to materialize. 

He wanted to make renovations, depending on the extent, was told he might lose the grandfathering.

Property must be habitable now - there is not  a renovation product. 

If the appraisal deems it to be "Subject to" you will have to use a renovation loan/construction loan to repair and close. 

And that ARV estimate above isn't a one-off either, varying the radius shows different values for this just-sold renovated home:

What software did you use to manage the renovation?

It is always better to start with a multi-unit 2+ so that if something goes wrong, you still have one tenant to cover necessary expenses (mort, taxes, insur, etc).Also, major renovations are not a great idea for starting out as others said, especially out of state.

They would also provide the funding and renovation funds at 7%.  

I would suggest doing some digging into BRRRR strategy, and see if you'd be open to buying something that needs renovating.

You need to do renovations, improve the property, and drive up rents.