In lower price ranges, a bedroom has a higher utility than a dining room, luxury homes will need a formal dining room, but you're probably not hacking a luxury home, just a guess.Number one rule in hacking, you don't modify a home to your personal taste, you make improvements based on the market.

Getting a taste of a small victory often, is very rewarding and can lead you to many more.

I would also not use that strategy of wanting a property up to your standards for you to live in or your loved ones There are buyers in every market that will have different taste, different income therefore might be willing to buy a property that you might not live in yourself.

If one of the partners expects something that one of the other partners doesn't expect then that can make for some pretty bad tasting Thanksgiving dinners.     

Ambergris is a little too touristy for my taste.

Always verify before spending all your money or this give you a bad taste and you never want to continue investing. 

5) If I did #4 above, could I then live in the house(s) & sell it 2 years later with no tax consequences (assuming the 250k/500k rule6) Who holds the monies to insure Unca Sam gets his taste?

But they left a bad taste in my mouth for exactly the reason you're bringing up.

After a month or two of the initial purchase, I am already talking with lenders that I already have built relationships with about my project to see who has a taste for it.  

Get a taste for flipping and being a landlord and decide if it is right for you.If you do become a landlord, screen like crazy.