Small town with a cute main street and vibe.

The main criteria should be finding someone who is highly experienced in real estate and preferably one who invests personally.

Other strategies include... finding a way to split a single family into multiple separate living spaces (The main floor, and basement. or converting a garage, or an existing ADU), Short term rentals (just be careful with city regulations), or furnished mid-term rentals (Travel nurses, or other contract-based workers).

:)  Have you found that your vacancies are mainly in the winter time? 

We don't typically advertise a target refinance date or amount unless it's an essential element of the business plan (heavy value add), but include it as a preference within the first 1-4 years of ownership. 

Mainly because you can use a 3.5% down payment instead of 15% for conventional.

Paint is typically the most cost-effective and impactful change one can make to a property, but kitchens and bathrooms are where your main focus should be.

The main reason I can think of is just for bookkeeping purposes, it will be easier to break them out, but are there any other things I should consider before deciding whether to open up another account or just combining? 

But for many locations, that's just not going to happen.I reckon your main investment goal should be to find deals/bargains that give you instant equity, even if you're then out of pocket each month. 

Ive been seriously looked into my first investment in real estate, I believe the main thing holding me back is financing.