Why do you think purchase contracts are so long and have such small print?

Also, I'd encourage you to think long term. 20-30 years from now, it won't matter if you bought your first property now or 3 years from now.'

Generally there are multiple units for each "zone" if you will when I've seen them installed.Regarding your problem at hand, I personally would simply adjust your plan to move and make your initial plan to get the current issues resolved, while costly now, in the long run holding onto the unit will likely pay off. 

How long would that take? 

When Columbus sailed, there cities were old and had long addressed housing issues generations before. 

I've been buying SFH's out of state all cash as long term hold rentals.  

Used houses in the area sell anywhere from $75-125 a square foot.These are long term rentals that I do not plan to sell.I am reading the Rental Property Investing book and implementing the method that focuses on cash flow and that strategy states you need to have $300 cash flow per month, per property.

How long did it take to complete those first three builds?

Understand your short term and long term goals.

Having a long-term rental while living abroad is do-able.Flipping houses while abroad, in my opinion, more difficult, especially if its your first go around with real estate.I would recommend taking a flight and staying in the area for a week and inspect the neighborhoods and make connections.You can reach out to @Elenis Camargo who has a PM company in Jacksonville.Best of luck though.