Did you pull the permit and still violate the issue that needed the variance? 

Price may be the biggest issue impacting your vacancy.

I am working on minor renovations this summer and then hope to find tenants (after reading the BP landlord book).I do kind of have another property, my long-term partner inherited a run-down mobile home.

To preface, this is my first rental property purchase and unfortunately, I realized halfway into owning the home, that the home is way too old, with many problems left behind by the flipper who tried to cheaply fix a lot of the issues. 

If you decide to put a mobile home on it, it's best to check with the zoning department regarding restrictions (if any).

@Steve WrightIf it is really a rental property, then capital improvements made to it (once it is a rental) are also deductible, but slowly via depreciation and not right away.The more important issue is whether you HAVE converted it to a rental property.

In that scenario, Fannie/Freddie have a 15% down option (but see above about market conditions) but they still won't lend to an LLC.Now, I feel that transferring your property to your LLC after closing is a non-issue. 

A few issues I see- raising capital- as you can probably tell, this is not going to be profitable. 

I spoke with someone who had a similar issue and proved that the property was being used as a 2 unit rental because they had a lease agreement in place and never discontinued use for more than 3 years since most recent rental license.With 3 units its a bit of a tougher battle.

If the deal is good enough (i.e. has meat on the bones), investors usually have no issues obtaining financing via hard money, private money or other lending options.Your experience will likely be similar so I'd recommend spending time/effort on finding and negotiating deals.