I was thinking of doing some creative finance: Maybe offering to take all three properties off of their hands with a lease to own, so I don't tie up all my money.

I would not start building anything on it until it is yours as there is too much of a risk. 

hello, I'm looking to start my rental portfolio. can you recommend some up to coming neighborhoods in philly with good rental potential?

I am looking to start investing myself by purchasing a primary residence and then converting to LTR after 1-2 years.

@Pandu Chimata You may need to start getting estimates if you're planning to add infrastructure to the vacant land.

I am an investor myself here in Columbus OH - started purchasing rentals and grew my portfolio to over 7 figures.

If so, should I be thinking about get rid of the property right away before the construction starts?

Since I am converting my Primary Residences into a STR MID-YEAR, does that go beyond the personal use days or does it start counting after STR service starts? 

I took a tax sale attorney to breakfast and he told me all that I felt I needed to get started.

If you get a copy of the seller's deed from the public records and it was prepared and recorded by a title company, their file number is probably on it, most likely in the upper left-hand corner.