The inherited tenants - with the farm of cats and dogs - I mentioned earlier, the renovation following their departure was pushing $25,000 .... yes, we changed the layout and upgraded the kitchen and bathroom ... but only because we had to rip-up the subfloor (and the interior partition walls which sat upon it).  

To help with renovation, deals with the property mangment, help me fined new deals and more.

In my opinion, there's not substitute for hiring a contractor who specializes in stucco and pay them to access the project on-site and quote the job.  

Based on my projections, I would be able to purchase the 2nd rental after 3 years.I would then continue to use this plan (saving all rental income towards down payments) to purchase additional single family rentals around a similar price point of $150k.  

I happened across this article on rehab loans and thought it may be helpful.http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/mortgages-pay-home-renovations-1.aspx

Last month, I took $90K in a cash-out refi on the duplex, and used it to buy an $80K duplex, putting $6K into renovations (ARV $110K or better.)

Real estate investing 101.Hard money lenders usually lend 65-75% of the project cost, charge 12-14% and 2 points for origination. 12% fees is a huge red flag, the only you'll get from "Midwest Corporate Credit" is an ulcer from the stress of losing $7,200.Raising $60,000 isn't too difficult, if you talk with friends and family and maybe a real estate attorney or two you should be able to raise it.

Been thinking about possibly making this home our first fix/flip project.

As such all kitchens and bathrooms needed renovating, along with new plumbing (was poly), and new HVAC (was window AC). 

Achieving economies of scale may best be attained through volume, but learning how to do it on a small scale will pay generous dividends later; pitching the concept to investors will be much easier when you can show concrete results, and extrapolate from those results instead of being forced to rely solely on projections from a concept.