If she could afford it, she would already be paying something or at least making improvements to the property.

And using your capital to pay down debt and improve another investment at what you feel is a strategic time is a good thing (in spite of what you'll hear from all the leverage jockeys around). 

I will walk through the home improvement stores this weekend.

Everything I can find on HUD.gov or otherwise with google defines immediate family as: (by blood, in-law, or marriage) parent, child, or sibling -- or spouse of any of these.

if economy starts improving you will still be able to find deals. 

@BJ Min I would purchase several properties in "high-risk" areas of OKC & over-improve them.

Although my blood is quite watered down, lol.

So I’m 22 and I’m in the educational phase of hopefully being an REI I plan on buying my first property next year for house hacking. after I improve my credit score and save up for my down payment but I’m torn between two markets I was thinking about moving to Atlanta and buying my first property down there but I’ve never lived there nor do I know the market or should I just purchase my first property here in my hometown (Chesapeake va) just to get my feet wet and then purchase my next property In GA?

I'll let you know how bad it is in about a month, looking for a $200K commercial loan to do some improvements. 

I don’t view them as hard and fast criteria by any means but it’s helped me improve my understanding of the pros/cons of an area.