I really don't want to be an landlord.

Independent heights could be an option for bellow 350k.

Happy to be an additional resource for you & good luck with your REI journey! 

This can be an effective technique with a single-family home. 

You need to be an expert in the market to make sure you can hit your assumptions and you can achieve the income and expense projections.Hope that helpsGino

but maybe it will be like Habitat for Humans  although when you look at their projects houses biult as cheap as code will allow.. so to me I guess if you put them in dead and dying areas to spruce them up that could be an improvementI live in a production home that's far from a ghetto. 

Could this be an opportunity for short-term rentals?

My question is would i be able to be an owner as well if I did not put any money down.

Pre-rental taxes can be an itemized personal deduction (Schedule A) if you don’t exceed the $10,000 state and local tax limit.Expenses incurred to get the property ready for rental, but before it is actually available for rent could be added under startup cost and can deduct up to$5,000 in the first year, if total start-up costs are $50,000 or less. 

This even could be an existing tenant that you have, if you know them at all.