Getting your first rehab project will require you to create a SOW, talk to contractors, compare and review bid proposals, review budgets, & make countless trips to Home Depot.​You will inevitably make mistakes and underestimate things, but you will learn 90% of what you know by just doing your first rehab!

I have a long term rental in Tampa that is appreciating faster and the rents are higher than my comparable Melbourne properties.

The builder used higher end materials compared to other builders.

The best way to price your listing effectively is to look up other comparable Airbnb/VRBO listings in our OBX market (size, bedrooms/sleeping capacity, bathrooms, town/neighborhood, proximity to beach/sound, pool/spa, amenities, elevator, etc) and price your property with competitive/similar pricing. 

I know financing an investment property is hard and even more hard if the investment property is a condo so I just want to make sure I don't run into any issues. (2) Are the rates comparable to if I had financed the condo in the first place for the purchase?

@Caleb HeimsothI agree mostly. the loans can be managed with a savvy plan.The delayed income is brutal tho compared to other fields.

I own A 4 plex.. 2bed/ 2 bath washer and dryer no hoa about 7 mins west of Summerlin paid 370k bac kin feb 2019 ( that was considered high compared to the rest of the areas I was looking in ) Put about 15k into it. it appraised for 430k this month collect about $3250/ month in rents. there is still opportunity and good things going on in this market, just might be harder to find. inventory for mfh now is very tight and expensive.

Contractors, Property Managers, Financial providers, Insurance providers, Real Estate Brokers and list goes on and on, you get my point.I know it is very easy to want to find a deal and purchase something quickly, I see it happen over and over again, people coming from out of state or even people coming from the Tampa, Orlando and Miami areas who start looking in the area, and find deals which "SEEM" like a good deal simply because $140k price tag is low compared to the persons market, and they make the purchase, they end up with a property with barely any equity, and they end up renting it out at a loss, example below:The below is fictional examples and estimates, always do your due diligence before investingPurchase price: $140,000.00Rehab: $15,000.00Closing costs: $4,000.00Holding Costs: $3,000.00Total Purchase price: $162,000.001% of purchase cost: $1620.00 mo.

I'm analyzing deals and looking for some input from other investors: In a scenario where you are comparing 2 duplexes in different areas which would you prefer to purchase and why?

Sounds like your house is worth 170k, buy what you know and your area is not very expensive compared to the coasts, by your numbers.