Start saving up and buy your first place.

This encourages them to start their search now and (hopefully) leave early so you can turn the unit around and find new tenants sooner. 

Quote from @Grant Shipman: Hey BiggerPockets Community,If you’re raising capital for real estate syndications, you need to be aware of SEC regulations—because one wrong move could put you in serious legal trouble.Many new syndicators think they can just start pooling money from investors without following the proper rules.

I am a newbie in BP, just started listening all the podcasts, fascinated by the community!

I will add that you definitely do not need to be near your investments, but it makes things a lot easier when you first start off. 

Therefore start with the min. requirement your lender will accept and see if that matches up with what your partner is willing to accept.

To clarify, I will only discuss renovations for rental properties, not renovations in general.Before you start, clarify your goalsWhy do you renovate a property?

Great that your starting out on biggerpockets.

Hello, I'm excited to be starting my real estate investing journey with my wife.

I am even good with cash flow neutral - have been since I started - and still can't find deals that work in that regard.