If these homes were such great investments, they would keep them for their own portfolio.When you purchase an investment, calculate your returns based on actual performance.

They better supply a massive amount of federal bailout funds to landlords after Trump's little act today, which  he used to buy the voting base.

• Is it all just customizable based on what works best?

Typically its done for open space or use for community property (ie. fire station location or other county use) and typicaly would assist in increasing tax base.  

Freddie has similar intricacies, but also does not require a two year history of receipt; https://guide.freddiemac.com/app/guide/section/5306.4If you can use the rental income to drive the DTI down so that you can reduce the down payment similar to that of the FHA product, the benefits of the conventional option will outweigh the FHA option, as I'm assuming you have a strong FICO based on rate quoted with no points.  

I wouldn't pick a random market far away based solely on statistics or numbers.

Quote from @John Lee: Hi all,My name is John and I'm a recent college grad about to start a Masters (SF/San Jose Area home base in California).

Property values have been appreciating rapidly in recent years, and the city’s population has started growing again—a trend we haven’t seen in decades.I’m also based in California and have been investing in Detroit for several years, so I understand the concerns of out-of-state investing.

Based on your description, Party 1 seems like the safer choice.

If you are trying to come up with a way to finagle the occupancy requirements while using an amazing loan (that you earned based on your service) like a VA, I would say you are starting off on the wrong foot.