Alternatively you could consider investing passively.

I'd give the prospective tenant a choice, 1. one month longer than projected completion and they must vacate on that date because you will be finding a new tenant 30 days before they leave or 2. two month's extra and if there are delays for any reason you will allow them to remain until the house has a certificate of occupancy. 

Whether you have the cash to finance these projects yourself or you find a hard-money lender to help you with the costs, we have a new alternative that's not only better than cash or cheaper than hard money, it enables you to do multiple projects at one time for the same amount of cash or less.

A reasonable choice that someone refinancing can make.For those of you looking to buy right now, watch out for that.

My choice is TenantCloud.

You would be surprised how many people have funds for all different types of real estate and alternative investment strategies. 

I will need to live in my first property because I will have no other choice. 

For tax purposes, you probably want the property to be treated as a "for profit" rental if possible, because the other alternative is that it's a "hobby", and you can't write off any losses.One of the tests is that the rent has to be "reasonable" - it can be somewhat below market, but it can't be pennies on the dollar low.

If the tenant is moving in more than halfway thru the month then I require prorated first months rent, second months rent and deposit...i am looking into deposit alternatives for my new 20 unit acquisition so this may change how I handle deposits . 

I have been looking for a step up voltage converter as an alternative option, but that doesn't seem realistic for an appliance.