We first identified our target renter profile.  

This is your investor profile. 

  - What can/should I do over the next 6 months to optimize my financial profile in preparation of buying my first property. - What legal steps should I be taking to reduce future liability and be prepared on the tax front?

As you'll see from my profile (feel free to give it a look!)

I've been content to wholesale, stow away cash, and keep a strong credit profile for when things bottom out but a "brain fart" popped in my head.  

@Philip OlivierYour tax profile is a little bit more complicated and such I think you should hire a professional(I am a little biased).Since you make $100,000 from your full-time job - you should be eligible to deduct the losses(if you have them) from your rental property so long as you don't have significant income from other sources including the short term rentals. 

I don't think I'm much of a fan of having a profile visible to the public and my kids splashed all over it.

Get a W2 jobAttend the real estate meetup groups in your marketHouse-hack your first investment propertyGet a profile picture :)

I think you'd find it difficult to get where you want to go with your $85k and I don't think use of those funds for that purpose puts you in a good risk profile with regards to capitalization and exposure, personally.ID of a multi-family that you can rent out...

You can always change your profile settings to only show the first initial of your last name.