If you are new to investing and need help to fet started maybe a good course will give you a push in the right direction, but i think in this case  maybe there are better cheaper ways to first understand what the opportunity really is and if it is right for you and your goals/available resources .

Sounds like you are doing it right - same thing we tend to buy, the ugly stuff. 

Used to use "oopsie" paint (tossed a bunch of  oopsie paint in 5 gallons of white paint and it always ended up a beige color) but if I used up all this paint I had nothing left for touch ups down the road. 

A lot of great advice in this thread - while Greg is right, it's a common mistake, and the right lender won't have you running into this issue - I always recommend buying in an LLC. 

And it sounds like the tile guys would also be the ones you go after.. so normally you make a claim on the builder who then gets his tile sub in there to fix it.. but if its a builder not active right now probably a tough thing to do. 

I have written before about the pitfalls of cost segregation, for example here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/831924-beware... and here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/1075919-five-...While cost segregation is an excellent and powerful strategy when used correctly and under the right circumstances, it is certainly not some master key that unlocks all doors all the time.

Note: I know owner will have to pay capital gain tax, etc. so I want to put a proposal together that can compare selling on the market vs. selling it to me and how advantageous it would be, but I can’t find the right numbers for it to work yet.- How do I make this work?

That said, I think it takes time to find the right fit.

Financially we could cover the cost of the homes sitting vacant after we move if we do not find renters right away. 

You're on the right track.