It requires you to have access to capital, to be yourself or partner with a strong borrower, and in CT you should be good at managing rental properties through renovations as this path is your best bet to force some appreciation, minimize risk, and hopefully give you some room to refinance your capital out. - Don't get too caught up in the rigid idea of rental properties.

I have used this product in the past. knife grade epoxyIf you can repair the chip with this product, and you should even be able to if it's on the edge of an undermounted sink (which is where these chips usually occur) you should, and pass a minimal cost on to your tenant.

All of these expenses were intended to minimize Cap Ex over the years. 

I know this loan product is great for distressed or fixer upper homes, but what if I was looking at a home to purchase that was more turnkey and needed very minimal to renovate or upgrade?

I have minimal experience with house work (minor paint and have installed LVT before but that's it...and it took forever) and would imagine it might just be worth it for a professional to take care of this quickly and correctly the first time.

I personally haven’t found a property (~3br with a pool) in the zip codes mentioned for less than $225k (assuming minimal repairs needed).

I can get a 2.25% 10 year loan with minimal closing costs.  

We made sure to be very respectful of the situation but not so respectful that she mistook our tone for something other than a desire to minimize damages and see her through this lease.

Any suggestions how to create an accurate ARV with minimal comps? 

Closing costs on top of that were very minimal...1% transfer tax, tax reimbursements and some other small misc fees.