So, as a buyer I would not want to spend money before having a contract.

Moral of the story and my personal take away from doing it, budget well and don't spend your money on liabilities (primary home)  and buy assets (rental property)..... 

I believe a large amount of our ad spend was spent to advertise the program.

We are also wondering whether it would be better to try and find something located closer to Nashville within 5-15 minutes that may not be as nice of a home or property for our budget or find something that is around 20-30 minutes from Nashville in the White House Tn area, but a nicer home within our budget.

They can help you navigate code compliance, especially with accessibility and egress requirements, and provide a clear budget before you begin.

We refinanced and cashed out all our renovation budget plus $5,000 and actually kept monthly payment the same as rates had dropped.

It's only dead if you are spending too much on your purchase.  

Obviously there are properties and investments that are exceptions but since we're discussing nearly unlimited budgets, my first look for a legacy estate would be begin in other areas.

Can anyone share a breakdown or budget for a similar project in a similar area?

This decision increased our budget from $15K to $45K, but it turned out to be a wise investment.