Contact the Department of Family Services to see if they can provide you some guidance or investigate the situation.

This means have a stable W-2 income stream, work on your credit score, investigate locations you like for that first 5% down FHA loan, find a property that would cash flow a bit if you weren't living in it (Mortgage, Taxes/insurance/HOA, 10% vacancy, repairs, property management), live in it for a bit, then turn it into a rental and watch the appreciation grow over the years. 

“Competitive advantage” is closely tied to local market knowledge.Research, investigate, and visit several markets.Pick one or two and then become experts in the chosen markets.That’s how one can gain an edge.

I will start investigating in the area that I am looking for.  

I know next to nothing about that, but I will investigate with my financial advisor.1031 into a new property sounds difficult because the market for multifamily properties in Pittsburgh is extremely competitive right now and there's not a lot of inventory.

I am in the early stages of investigating and have been using the IRS.gov website to familarized myself with the FAQ section to try and understand the parameters of operation for those seeking the program benefits.

In addition, investigate how much you can really rent the other units for by looking up comparable rents in the area.Bonus Tip:Always save at least 1-3% of the value of your home for unexpected expenses, even if you're house hacking.

A red flag is something that needs to be investigated to determine if there is mortgage fraud or not, it happens all the time. 

I can't wait for journalists of the future to finally do their job and investigate the negative impact of this entire government fiasco.Side note: this is going to really hit the poor communities hard because they don't have picture ID.

Originally posted by @Jonathan Taylor:thanks for the info, I knew the work history would be an issue, I’ll start to investigate assist based loans as well.