The punch list is long, so I estimate I have paid ahead about $20,000 based upon line items yet to be completed. 

Hello Maddie,If your goal is to use your savings in two years to acquire an investment property then using a tax-deferred vehicle such as 403B would not be a good idea.

Thanks @Tom Gimer  yes I'm going ahead with the deal.

Their contract stated that they needed my go ahead to spend anything in excess of 100$.

If you want to do auto theft go ahead and do it.

This should all be gone over ahead of time.3) Have your LL speech ready, so the new tenants know you are serious about on time rent -- before the lease is signed.  

Definitely a little bit insensitive based on the timing, but understand getting out ahead of it.  

I really enjoy my day job as an engineering but I hope that real estate investing can be my vehicle to financial freedom. 

if you decide to go ahead I would suggest doing what I did I charged One year upfront and the lease was with the parents of the occupants I had theor security numbers and they were personally responsible for any damages At no limitI first went to a real estate attorney and had him write up he lease to make sure it was all legalWorked perfectly when a group of them did nearly $10,000 worth of damages Mommy and daddy paid up within days of them leaving at the end of the school year. 

Not only because I had the connections and market knowledge, but also because it's a much cheaper market.So I went ahead and connected with a local investor through online search (unfortunately there are not many Portuguese in BiggerPockets).