I did a quick and inexpensive renovation, rented it for $650 with no problem (45% above what he rented it for), and had it appraised for double what I paid, so when I cashed out I walked away with more money than I spent on the purchase and reno *and* left 25% equity behind in the house, with a house that cash flows roughly double the mortgage/insurance/taxes. 

What about buying a house on cheaply with a home equity line from one home, renovating it, then refinancing it and taking another heloc on that new renovated home?

Igor:I suspect when you next renovated, you will be required to hardwire your detectors.  

BH is lagging behind the HP  neighborhood in residential renovation but the change is going to bleed over in due time. 

new to the real estate scene but after buying my first house and  renovating it I came to the conclusion I love the aspects of real estate.

I love the repurposing effort of renovating old homes.

You'll get to see the process, financially and through the renovation.  

@Steve Rozenberg:  Don't want to go on a tangent but given your experience, how do you handle major property renovations? 

I will do some renovation and I welcome all insights into setting a passive income structure that will best leverage six fugures into seven figures in the next decade. 

I am in in the middle of a 20K renovation for a doublewide on land.