Long Island long winded introduction

[Steven Knox]

I've been reading BP for a couple of months now and figured it was time to have the typical introduction post. I'm a 26yo mechanical engineer working in NYC and living on Long Island. I'm getting married in August and my fiancée will be finishing graduate school in May (Occupational Therapist). Over the next 6 months we will be studying for our licensing exams so that will essentially consume our time until then. My father has offered to sell me the family house I grew up in, which was originally out of budget at around $450,000 but then surprised me saying he would sell me the house for $350,000 and that difference of $100,000 would be distributed to my brother and sister in the form of his life insurance payout when he passes away. (Essentially meaning I just won't receive that money when he passes) Just wanted some additional opinions on this as it seems to be a great idea and really could help us live comfortably in this house. This will be my personal residence, not an investment opportunity. I'm really interested in utilizing real estate as an investment vehicle but definitely see myself as more of a passive investor due to my current job paying well and being time intensive. (Already investing ~20% of salary for retirement in various forms of the stock market) Even after putting 20% down, we should still have a healthy sum of money in the bank. Should this money be put towards renovating the house, increasing its value and making it into our dream home (fiancées first choice) or just doing the necessary repairs and investing that money into real estate (my first choice). There is also the option of putting more money down to increase our equity in the property. Deciding between buy and hold (out of state) or potentially flipping nearby properties (best friend is a plumber with many contractor contacts and would take care of the day to day, I would assist with funding). Turnkey seems appealing due to its passive nature but I feel like I am leaving a lot on the table if I take that route. Anyway, that is my not so brief introduction and would love to connect with any professionals from the LI NYC Metro area. I still have plenty of learning to do which I'm looking forward to. With all of this being said, do you think it is wise for me to wait and save money for these large expenses (house, wedding, honeymoon) and make sure everything turns out as expected or get a jump on investing?