Otherwise, if the numbers make sense and your credit is good, it should be easy to find a lender.

I purchase my personal investments to maximize their equity and hold long term.

You need to make sure you're working with someone whose sending you personalized deal flow that actually meets your buying criteria.

Account holders can't take any write-offs personally for investments made in the 401k.

I have gotten a seller's credit for my 3 existing units but to be conservative, I will assume I am paying full closing costs here.At the moment, I have ~$25k in a HYSA and expect to save another $10k from my W-2 before I start putting offers in.

I finished all the degree requirements only to discover I was extremely burned out and had to complete another year of electives to satisfy a minimum number of credits at that university.

You'll want to put together a personal financial statement (basically lists of all your assets and liabilities) and have your tax returns ready.

Yea this is a long-term personal play more than a strict STR deal. 

If you are looking at FHA because of credit score, then I would work on credit scores to qualify for conventional financing or see if you can get a very strong coborrower with high scores.  

Explore my personal favorites, Set For Life by Scott Trench or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, for invaluable financial insights.3.