You can use the proceeds on down payments for numerous smaller properties. 

You might want to do this in January or February to see if they keep current.Sorry its a lot to take in on your first purchase.

There is a lot to talk about.

There is a lot to the process amd yes you can start  small and scale up or start bigger if you have the resources but first step is to educate yourself on the business itself. 

   - Read numerous biggerpockets posts, podcasts, youtube channels etc

There are numerous books you can buy here from seasoned, successful, knowledgeable investors like @Brandon Turner @David Greene @J Scott @Joshua Dorkin and plenty more professional.

@Greg Moore While @Paul Sandhu has a lot to teach (and a lot of just plain great stories) his model/target demographic is not the same as yours - by a long shot :) I think you named the two biggest general STR risks (though a pandemic is something that wouldn't have made anybody's list a year or so ago!).  

We are interested in buying a lot to build our house.

There are numerous pre-recorded webinars to watch as well as articles and books to read.

There are numerous state and local eviction moratoriums still in effect, and they all have different rules.