Double check these.Before you get to deep in the process make sure you establish a good ARV based on recently sold comps.  

Free is free, you can only go so deep with free.  

Again, let's say I continue to carry out this process and I'm 7 properties deep and on the sale of the 7th property I do not purchase another property in attempts to avoid capital gains.

Then paying half upon completion of the work.At the very end I have this:1.If you do not wish to comply with these remedies, you may leave the property within 30 days of the posting of this noticea.You will forfeit your security depositb.You will not be exempted from complying with the terms of the Lease agreementc.You will not be exempted for paying rent for the months that you have occupied the premises (rent will not be prorated)d.You will not be relieved of responsibility for damages to the propertye.You will not be evicted and thus will not have an eviction on your credit history if you remove all of your property from the premises within 30 days, return all keys to Landlord, leave the property as you found it (including but not limited to clean and free of debris) and do not cause any further damagesEviction is costly for myself as well as for you.

Unless you have very deep pockets, are investing in a well known and proven never lose high appreciation market and have loads of cash to park that you will never have any use for.

Time is money, and new construction is often faster than "deep" renovation.

I am still deep in the research phase of real estate investment and would love some guidance on what path to take. 

Hey Jeremy,Well done on the deep dice analysis of the market and congrats on getting comfortable with a place to begin your investing career.

Since this is a valve issue you as the property owner need to replace this soon before it damages the ceiling of the unit downstairs and depending how deep the valves are sometimes it requires to break the walls to fully repair the valve pipes and then yes you will need to repair the wall after plumbing is completed.

You want the expert in their field not a generalist that is an inch deep and mile wide.3) Make some calls and check with other property owners in the area.