It very well could become a large enough investment to be worthwhile, also solving for "unexpected emergencies ", for the most part and would an easy self management situation if you were to live onsite in one of your connected townhomes.

I guess I could do some work-arounds -- maybe reserve one unit in the first purchase for use as an AirBnb, and reserve my own time in it when needed - instead of claiming it as a primary.Are either of you (or anyone) familiar with a finance product/loan that will allow me to purchase under $150,000 (w/ strong credit) and do much of my own work and live-in a portion as a primary residence?  

I manage the program for one so I wanted to provide good questions to ask.

One of my rental properties in Austin had a fire recently when tenants used fireplace.

GREAT ideas for stopping by their place!

Since you want to aggressively invest in the near future, you will need cash and the 30 year option is the right one for you.

Kid in college and one starting to drive   blah blah blah.I'm sure there are numerous places to cut money for sure. 

I would start by listening to the podcasts, i especially liked the older ones!

I would recommend talking to many lenders/brokers to see which one has the most experience funding these loan types. 

As soon as I close on it (next week), I'll list it on Zillow as well.I spoke to a lot of unqualified candidates, but I also spoke to some good ones, and I'd like for them to fill out an application.