Hi,I am about to open a 1031 and anticipate buying 2 or 3 homes ($120-180k ea.) in the Nashville/Middle Tennessee area, which is a very hot market with limited inventory. 

You pass that limit (for three consecutive years.

Sometimes the spikes and surges from those can fry things.For "no heat", it could be one side of the 240 V to the dryer missing, a bad heating element, bad regular thermostat, bad high-limit switch, or bad control board.

From my limited time investing and being a land lord I feel like there's ways to be more suave about this.

The $ amount available to you may define and/or limit where you can look for properties.  

It IS helpful to have someone on your team who is licensed, but being licensed yourself may impose limitations you may not want to deal with.

Even though doing a rehab would net a higher profit, I personally thought that doing a rehab right off the bat would be a bit much for me just starting out because of my limited knowledge and because I don't have the time to oversee such a project right now.

I have homes in parks here by me but there is only a limited number of parks and lots open I could use then I am stuck.  

Don't limit yourself to look at just one house. 

However, (again, from my newbie experience), those who are working with limited capital may be better off turning 3-4 houses a year (and paying the higher associated tax rates) than the strategy you mention.