Better materials such as stronger  lumber were used when the earlier vintage properties were built and many  contained design characteristics such as stone or brick work and intricate millwork that are too costly to replicate today meaning many buildings are significantly below todays replacement cost. 

I would personally rather be the guy with the lower purchase price and higher rate, but it doesn't help a brand new househacker in the short term. 

Following this, I consider it another pro of our situation that I have the ability to do significant property renovations myself, and between my wife and I, we make a pretty good design team.

The roofer gave me a invoice with high level bill of material, and a statement that it has 2 years of warranty and brand name of the shingles.It does not say brand name warranty or model or batch number etc. 

Ironically, platforms designed for real estate (Zillow, Apartments.com, Rentler, etc.) produce very few tenants for me, compared to FB Marketplace (and I also find a lot of their functionality to be user un-friendly, from the landlord side). ...you'd think that platforms custom-made for real estate would make the process a snap for landlords, but it takes me a lot longer to post and manage rental listings on Zillow or Rentler than it did on Craigslist.

I am wondering if my first steps (past the education part) is to build a network of people who know, like, and trust me through posting content like newsletters, articles, podcasts, doing webinars, going to events (aka build my brand), or, should I first find a deal and then raise capital?

In my experience these brand new rentals don't get the rents anticipated by out-of-state buyers.

He received quotes to remove the texture ceiling, paint the interior, purchase and install new kitchen cabinets and counters (including completing the design), picked out 2 floorings to get quotes which will be provided this week, and determined furnace is beyond saving (I will likely get HVAC quote for him).  

BiggerPockets is full of resources designed to help you along your journey, whether you are just getting started or a seasoned investor.

you can likely buy a small multi in a great neighborhood and (i'm making this up) if it has a 4 BR and a studio, you live in the studio and rent out the 4 BR.