My agent brought a buy and hold property that could be potentially be a great investment to my attention. I used the BP rental property calculator to plug in some numbers and at about 15k less than asking price, it could make a decent cash flow.

The property is priced 30-40k less than what it could be and is being sold "as-is" so that tells us that it needs some renovations done. From the MLS photos and provided information, it looks decent (needs cosmetic upgrades), has an open floor plan, great square footage, in a good school district, has a high average rent for the area etc.

Any advice on what exactly I can do next in this process to determine a more accurate number for the cost of renovation that needs to done to make this a desirable rental property without taking too many steps ahead if it turns out not to be a deal.

Get it under contract. Then get a contractor to walk it with you and give you an estimate on the work. Ideally you'll want a minimum of 3 bids, but 1 will give you an idea of what you'd like to do. You don't want to over-rehab it for the area, so just what's really needed. Add an additional 10% to the number and then see if your numbers still work.

Great advice, Joseph !!