I understand that TIF effectively freezes the property tax at the pre-project value, but I don't understand how that could be used to fund a down payment on a project.  

Nearly all of the benefits of RE are related to Federal taxation and not State.

The biggest being borrowing from Canadian lenders - with no Canadian income, residency or credit history you may find yourself limited in the size of mortgage you can place (perhaps no more than 50% LTV).Your easiest approach may be to find a Canadian partner and work with them to acquire properties.Overall, the fundamentals of investing in real estate are the same, details will differ - particularly in areas of finance, regulation and taxation.  

You should also remember, if the building is your primary residence, than your input expenses {i.e. renovation costs} are not deductible from the proceeds of the sale ... this might very well negate any taxation benefit.

Keeping money to the end of the year won't have any more tax drawbacks, any income you can not deduct, towards expenses, would be taxed. one way to not owe the tax at the end of the year is if you sell a property and do a 1031 exchange ( like kind exchange ).

A benefit to you when you occupy a property for any 2 out of 10 years, is that the property increases in value over time, and you can exclude the capital gains from taxation. 

@Steve Vaughan There's a very good point you make regarding the taxation issues, if you rent for 12 months and a day, 366 days, your taxation when you sell (what the IRS charges you)  is a lot less then if you sell quickly (less than 12 months)See your CPA

However, by virtue of the US/UK treaty for the avoidance of double taxation, you could credit the income and capital gains taxes paid to the UK against your US income and capital gains taxes.

@Sunil ChataniDepending on how the LLC's are structured, they may or may not require an separate tax filing.Since you are a real estate agent, you also want an accountant who is familiar with business taxation since being a real estate sales person is a business.There are a couple of CPA's on the messageboard.

Do they also specialize in real estate taxation?