It will be an identical home to the one I’m currently building, and I expect to need no more than $160K in financing.I’m not looking to overextend myself by taking on too much debt, but I want to make sure I’m approaching this in the right way. 

Finally, be prepared to need a 30-35% down payment.

I'm going to reiterate what's already been mentioned above, but I'm going to actually give you examples of why it's relevant to you to find a U.S. tax professional.1 - You're going to need to file U.S. taxes once you have property down here, there's federal filings, state filings, and sometimes local filings too2 - Tons of tax treaties between the U.S. and Canada that are easy to miss and can cost you a lot of money (important one with rentals - effectively connected income - if the professional you talk to doesn't know what this is, run away)3 - The amount of days you spend in the U.S. needs to be tracked and if you go over a threshold, all of your worldwide income could be taxable by the U.S.4 - Selling real property means up to 15% of your sales proceeds might not be available to you for years (FIRPTA)5 - Lots of nuance at the state and local levels, which both want to take as much money from you as possibleMain takeaway here is that you should find a U.S. based tax person.

I don't think we are going to be able to come up with $50K before they're going to need to move and no, definitely no family members able to gift $50K. 

I know you said you don’t expect anything major on the properties soon, but I would take a careful look at what is most likely to need to be replaced soon and figure out how you would pay for that if it needed to be done tomorrow.

The exterior sets the tone for the house and is your first impression.

If you're going to need a mortgage, you're locked out of the game. 

Interior PaintingScope of Work:Paint all walls, ceilings, and trim with neutral high-end paintUse two-tone color scheme for added eleganceEstimated Cost: $10,0005.

Almost an impossible way to “get started” as you’re going to need full purchase price in cash on hand or a HML willing to instantly fund you. 

My experience in the last 15 years is that except in the most extreme circumstances, an investor is going to need some of their own capital to make a deal fly.