New construction is very low margin game...

Its also an active investors game. 

That'll actually put you ahead of the game.

When you are within two years of purchasing make sure to have good tax returns to submit as lenders will want tax returns for last two years.Use the money you have saved and your tax returns to buy a duplex/triplex with an FHA loan and house hack.That would be my game plan in a nutshell.

Anything is fair game within that driving radius.

No experience and no skin in the game will also be an issue with the lender.

Aloha Chris, you can do more than practice,  you get into the game with OPM.   

Outside of real estate and data science, I love board games, cooking, classic rock music and travelling (might travel around Mexico/Cancun if possible). 

A hot tub is always nice, and if you have a game room, that's good too. 

I would say to find a better property manager, but it sounds like you're leaning towards getting out of the game.