I have yet to purchase my first property and I am open to market suggestions preferably on the lower end in out of pocket costs as I am brand new to this kind of investing.

If you are brand new (and are using a mortgage), don't waste your time on foreclosure options as most, if not all, will be bought with cash and most, if not all, will have limited inspection options.

I’m brand new in the scheme of things.

Brand new to bigger pockets looking to learn a ton!

Back when I worked at Homeaway I was the Customer Support Manager and worked with the team that created the original "Community by Homeaway" (now converted to the newly branded Vrbo "Partner Community").That Community has a lot of resources for "newbies" just getting started, including this article:https://community.vrbo.com/s/n...Here is the short version:The people you hire to perform maintenance and handle cleaning at your second home could very well be the lifeblood of your vacation rental business.

Assuming you don't have any immediate need for the equity in these properties, I might try to refinance both of them into brand new 30yr mortgages at sub 3% interest rates (no cash out).

Last night I cancelled an appointment with a bigger brand hvac company after reading your post and made an appointment with Michael and Sons for today. 

Also no repair costs I think is pretty unlikely I like to budget something just incase unless this is a brand new construction in which case you would not have any tenants in place and still incur operating expenses.

I am brand new RE agent in Fredericksburg, VA.

However, seeing as this is a new construction, I am also not sure as to whether it's necessary to be putting that much aside, since the roof, appliances, etc. are all brand new.