You can have great schools lots of jobs lots of fine homes in the area with no crime but the downside to all that is very high prices and little to no real cashflow .if you like little to no income and play the appreciation game ,go for it .

I would never pay down existing mortgages I would just let them play out.  

(and of course it will have been used before it overflows)  My exposure to investment property is through REIT's only because I live in one of the outer boroughs of NYC and I see no point in spending a ridiculously high amount of money for a building that's going  to produce a ridiculously low cash flow (that's IF everyone paid and IF nothing broke- big IF's)  add to that gross over regulation along with moronic laws that give all the power to the tenant  and I can't see a reason for me, if I want to be able to sleep at night and have peace of mind, to own physical property. 

I need to know if the "let's buy this now and repair the property slowly as time goes on" tactic is a good plan for a value-play purchase considering all the above.

(Will leave my opinion of that fund for another time) If that is tax free or tax deferred would come into play too.Well, that's an option some people choose because it's quite safe as long as Oregon funds the pension system. 

I would have it at the marina so amenities could be used with shore power.

But w/o an agent, commission comes into play for negotiations.

I was playing with the numbers and missed changing that.

Best to do your homework and really learn all of the neighborhoods, build a power team, or partner up with an investor that knows the market and has a team in place.As for how I'm handling the high taxes...

I don't have the energy to play cops & robbers, that's not my job.Separately, as part of management principles, I would always pay attention to patterns, who's the common element in said pattern.