I have more than 20k to play with, just looking for ideas for best use. 

As others have alluded to, buying larger units or a house near the beach is a better play. 

There may be other issues at play here that have little to do with a lack of experience at real estate tech platforms. 

Ideally, these would be vacant and abandoned properties that have not been sold in the past 5+ years.

That also plays a major role in what to do. end of day stocks and real estate over time provide the same return on average - so it is really based on the individual, their experience and desire Thank you. 

Roof lines, window styles, and masonry/siding all play into this natural flow, and the biggest mistake you can make when designing your flips is not following the flow that is already present!

Obviously all that is ideal and that is the timeframe we would love to get everything done in.

This could be an awesome play..

I would try to find an agent with investor experience and, ideally, a focus on investment properties. 

Once you've thought a bit about what your ideal wholistic investment portfolio looks like, if you decide that you want some kind of more active real estate investing in the mix, I cannot recommend more getting Start with Strategy by Dave Meyer and the accompanying workbook The Strategy Planner.