I can provide support of checking in on contractors, staging rental properties, walk potential leads to give you an idea of the property in person or what the area is like, meeting with agents, and drafting scope of work for projects. 

If you want something that looks nice Article and Castlery have some great looking stuff without breaking the bank too bad ($2-3K range).

Should I talk to an appraiser before the bank gets an appraisal?

I personally would recommend it but it isnt the best run 3 day. 

I have never seen the homes in person, but got a good walk through from my realtor.

Personally, if the property is in a bad area, this will give you headaches no matter what.

I'm also in a 5 person group within gobundance called a 'gopod' and we meet weekly.

The property is zoned as a SFR house and likely in a neighborhood of the same.Was the property not appraised by the bank when you got your mortgage?

I personally am interested in creating a long-term rental portfolio but I'd be interested in hearing any strategy, ie. house flipping, short term rentals etc.

At it's basic level:Assumption: Asking the bank to turn the loan over to you and going through the normal underwriting process, credit, income, DTI ratio etc SubTo: Taking over the loan without telling the bank, no underwriting, no credit check, no income verificationBoth have risks, but it's not my intent to be detailed in this post.