I'm sure the company is fine and want to give them the benefit of the doubt.

It's always best to start local and then gain experience as you go through the motions as a new landlord. 

There is no, or very little, current benefit - there is no cash flow.  

I will say this short term sacrifice can lead to major long term gains.  

Having just spent the last 5 days touring Portugal its apparent this move that Clayton and his wife made has yet again been to their benefit at the cost of their investors.This is hardly any kind of hardship on them..

You make more when it's uneven and you can live in the smaller unit.Focus on the asset and the area, as long as you can withstand net negative or breakeven cashflow, and you will gain in appreciation.

When the syndication is sold in future years, are the gains, depreciation recapture, and distributions also taxed as active income?

I gained some experience in being a general contractor by managing & working on some renovations on that other house.  

Is it to build up assets, is it to make additional income, is it to reduce your monthly housing spend and save more money, is it tax breaks/benefits? 

If you wait until it’s a rental, you might be able to depreciate the remodel costs over time, which could be a great tax benefit.