Renting it out now could help cover the mortgage, and you’d benefit from any appreciation over the next two years.

I will be purchasing the properties in cash, likely from mortgage or tax deed/lien auction.

The buyer finds out too late into a DD period that the insurance company will require the panels to be replaced, and the buyer ends up trying to negotiate with the seller.

So if you had 3 rentals with losses and 2 rentals with gains, the losses from the 3 rentals would offset the other 2 rentals and the rest of the loss would be carried forward to offset other passive activity losses in future years if applicable.

The modest purchase price, combined with an ideal renovation budget, presented a prime opportunity to improve the home’s market appeal.

You'll spend a lot of time (sounds like you may have already) spinning your wheels in trying to find the right lender, whereas a solid broker can pair you up with the right fit right away and get your project moving. 

With the median time to contract stretching from 21 to 32 days, it’s about playing the long game.

I had been living in a PadSplit and was able to save enough to buy a property so I bought this one and house hacked it as a 4/2 using the PadSplit platform.

My opinion is that the overall direct effect of immigration policy on any given market will pale in comparison to other factors such as the economy, inflation and deregulation. 

Welcome to the community.