Having remodeling skills and time to unleash them on a property is awesome and can be an advantage to you with something you can get into locally.

Back those in my EARLY Days I also started to attend every real state auction, that's where my real education really started (meeting seasoned investors and learning about values, hard and soft money, leverage, negotiating and skinny contracts making offers and sharping my skills on nothing down methods and creative financing and options.

Do you have multiple Sub Contractors, for similar trade skills, such as plumbers, electricians, flooring crews, painters, etc.?

I've done some renovations, can use power tools, measure, help with installation of cabinets, etc. so I have some skills to help my projects along.

I agree with @Michael Ealy, the best way to ramp up, safely, is to partner with other syndicators who lack the skills that you have.

Someone with basic woodworking skills should be able to modify the existing opening to allow for a larger slide-in stove.

If these properties are just investments and he is worried that his children do not have the expertise or skill to manage it, sometimes you can create a family trust and hire a trustee to run the properties.

I have more of the entrepreneur spirit than the spouse, but he has the brawn and skills.

I'm not sure if getting into debt is the best place to start, esp since we don't know your skill level. 

People skills takes having that inner desire to actually want to help people, and unfortunately, many people don't have that set of skills.