Make sure you have all your communication.

On a new build I would be able to do some of the work post framing.

Money --and the lack of communication around money-- is the largest cause of divorce.

For my passive capital I chose to lean away from crowdfunding platforms in favor of building relationships with great operators and investing directly with them.

Other than that work through it as fast as you can, it will build a foundation for you to use in the Real World of real estate.

I think you are on the right track however its going to be necessary for you to have some "skin in the game" sooner rather than later - while it can be appealing and seemingly possible to build a significant real estate portfolio with all of "OPM" the reality is you are probably going to need to have some equity in these properties - 20% or so down from your own funds to keep building. 

We do love the building As-Is.

You can find some meetups on the Neighborhood Building Owner's Alliance website. 

They may even work with FA's or CFP's to build the team you need for this transition of retirement assets.

Plus, you can build a network of trusted local contractors for maintenance and repairs down the line.