If your current family/living situation will allow it the path of least resistance would be to owner occupy a 2-4 unit property.

Cash/Deposit for Keys is the path of least resistance. 

In many ways It is slowly following horrible California examples, but it’s resisted most of its real estate ideas. 

But most that use your water usage will use your wet weather usage to try and minimize any impact from irrigation.

Pros:Strong cash flowMajor affordable housing shortage in the countryBarrier to entry - zoning prohibits new parksPride of ownership - the residents own the homeLower operating costs - the residents own the homeLower touch - the residents own the homeSticky residents - costly to move a homeEasy to raise rents - costly to move a homeRecession resistant asset class - affordable rentLarge private equity funds are entering the space - drive prices upMom & pop ownership - opportunities to improve NOI and valueLower entry cost per door - less capital neededCons:Not sexy - smaller resale pool (but that's changing)Stigma - some counties try to stop operations (poorly operated parks, criminal activity)Stigma - some people don't want to live in oneLower credit quality residentLess appreciation potential, unless forcedNiche investment - helps to have scale to properly operateMany banks don't understand it - tougher to financeOlder assets in many cases

Make sure to have a plan of how you're going to weather the potential storm and you'll sleep better and not be in trouble during hard times.

However, shortly before I made the jump, I was offered a job in my family’s business that I couldn’t resist.

I understand the weather has been disruptive, but maybe they could have cut their fees in order for you to cash flow a bit.I would vet his company to see how they perform on the sell side.  

A little off topic but I've always wondered, is one paint brand more durable or stain resistant then others? 

We try to keep 100k available among our accounts to cover anything that comes up so we can weather the storms (but we also are nearing 50 properties).