After you patch up an apartment unit (or if you have a pretty one currently lived in by a neat tenant), stage it with nice looking basic furniture, post it on CL yourself and see what response you get.

On my first day out door knocking I spotted a house that had distressed written all over it.  

I am basically interested in anything that deals with the outdoors, fly fishing especially.I am in the process of investing in my first property a duplex/triplex and live in one unit and rent the others.Interested in developing new relationships in the greater Philadelphia area.Any ideas on meet ups, strong areas of development, real estate agents, and any other pertinent information for a new investor is greatly appreciated.Looking forward to forming strong relationships and starting a real estate business in the Philadelphia area.Thanks!

is that your HVAC or washing machine or is it furniture, or the lawn mower?

all of my furniture and belongings will be in the house. 

Frame the boards and put hinges on them and you have accessible storage area for outdoor items like a grill, chairs...

The conservative rule of thumb is to use what the hospitality industry uses for building your Furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) reserve vs.

I brought furniture in for staging, hung artwork and really tried to create a high quality look.

Also, installment loans like buying furniture on credit really don't help much, as they are not revolving accounts. 

If you don't have a property manager that understands the landlord/tenancy laws, you'll want to familiarize yourself with them, for instance, if they leave their furniture and belongings, there are laws that dictate what you can do or not do.