Start your real estate investment journey with Brandon Turner's "The Stack" method, starting with small multifamily properties and gradually moving to larger ones.

Rented it for a few years then slowly started making updates to increase rent.

Is an email with all this information the best way to start? 

I’m very familiar with civic source they started about 10 years ago to fix a problem.

He's probably retired and/or extended with his son's development,  but he was a hands-on HML meaning he was very knowledgeable and would help underwrite your deal as part of his DD. 

That will give you a good baseline to start from.You can also use AirDNA by buying the specific area to drill down farther.Try https://www.awning.com/airbnb-estimator as well.

Go to meetups in your area and start making contacts.

Starting one from the ground up, or buy an existing property that is for sale?

If you know anything about building in Philly the plans and permits can be the hardest part of the project with it often taking many months to get everything in place just to be able to start construction.

I live in San Diego and Im also looking to start investing out of state with little to no experience.