He has been working on properties his whole life so he’s a great resource and partner on getting the work done but as this is my first purchase and reno, I am looking for a few suggestions on finishes so I can finish working out my numbers.The house was bought from a local investor who seems to have run out of money and was offloading about 3-5 properties in my area.

I recommend looking at all the data sources and the listing platforms themselves to get the best feel for revenue potential.Also, reach out to local owners for the most accurate expense information. 

Yes get to your local RE meeting.

Where I worked (in California) it was a $30k fine to do it yourself....Make sure you guys check with your local regulations.

I am based in Oregon and I am planning on diving into the world of out of state investing.I have bought and sold a couple of  homes here locally but would love to start growing my out of state portfolio which I have very little experience in. 

With both of us working FT, managing 10 rentals, and parenting our kids we could no longer grow unless one of us left our jobs or we hired a PM.Managing one or two annual rentals is not difficult for most people, especially if you are local to the property.

You can use this tool to figure out that part: https://docs.google.com/document/d/100dRzu-iQEIZbR1adxIASdH2...Once you have that you should engage a local broker to discuss the options for those types of uses in your market and they will be able to help you understand the overall picture and cap rates of the various options.

Are you planning to invest locally in New York or are you open to investing out-of-state?

Just yesterday I was speaking with a friend who has over 100 properties in VC.Personally I invest outside of CA via Syndications however I work with folks locally to help them drum up local investment opportunities as well. 

You may also find others in the local real estate group looking to learn more about note investing.