Biggest piece of advice I can give is don't overpay and avoid any major rehabs just starting out.

I would think an investor and even homeowners would avoid anything with a balloon payment. 

I often break it down into the "five pillars" of protecting your assets.The first pillar is avoiding unnecessary and risky activities (don't drink and drive, insurance generally won’t cover your poor decisions) and take good care of your investments - these simple steps will help you prevent lawsuits before they even occur.The second pillar is a good insurance policy as that cover the majority of your exposure.

I often break it down into the "five pillars" of protecting your assets.The first pillar is avoiding unnecessary and risky activities (don't drink and drive, insurance generally won’t cover your poor decisions) and take good care of your investments - these simple steps will help you prevent lawsuits before they even occur.The second pillar is a good insurance policy as that cover the majority of your exposure.

We have a pretty aggressive time table for our investment strategy, so having to wait three years to purchase a property is something we'd really like to avoid. 

Or do we go ahead and put the money to work and avoid the tax, even though we aren't quite getting the deals we want?

@Ryan Marrero AirBnb and VRBO and Short Term Rentals are such a unique aspect of real estate investing.

In other words, avoid over renovating the place.

I think his work is somewhat seasonal so he has some money available and basically just wants to avoid blowing it.

I prefer to control this aspect.