The DIY is possible with time invested in education and treating your investment like a business or offshore it to a good property manager. 

You can work from the top down or bottom up, same animal, but assuming you work off an ARV will be a gamble.

When you exit a market for a duration (in your case 3 years), you are taking a gamble that market does not get far worse for purchases.  

Meaning also do something to get enough money in your pocket to buy this cash, so that the purchase is not your last penny, or you're not gambling 100 percent of what you have on these deals because as you know sometimes they do not work out.Just my 2 cents.

Either self-manage like many on here do, or hire an inexpensive offshore PM who works US hours & speaks eloquent English (that’s what I do).

In that case, it's getting close to gambling instead of investing.I'm really sorry to be the bearer of bad news here and I'm wishing you all the best! 

I feel as if this investment might be a gamble with this open permit, considering it most likely has to pass inspections before the permit is closed.

If unaffordable (compared to median income) it is a foolish gamble and a bad decision financially. people call this a lifestyle choice.If you want to spend on the family, You may want to buy a second home with a nice garden for 100-200k in the middle of nowhere for week ends.

Hundreds of miles offshore, in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle, sailing to a tiny island, BP was there keeping me fired up about the future after our sailing adventure. 

Of course, you can also just gamble and go with the cheapest PMC, but you'll usually get exactly what you pay for.