Currently work for the government and travel a lot for work.

Hey Jonathan,I work for a local government in the midwest in the city's development services department.  

Joe's brother-in-law buying Joe's house at a short sale would be a huge red flag for fraud.I think the biggest arrow in your quiver is #1, and your most probable path to success is to order a fresh appraisal with a fresh opinion of value, and once it comes back go to your (or the end-lender's) appraisal department (not the AMC, the lender's internal folks) and argue that the new appraisal is more credible than the previous one because of #1 ("if the appraiser didn't even go to the comps for a quick drive-by photo, who knows what else he didn't even actually do?")

The Federal Government also added a "stress test" on new mortgages.  

Does that mean it's government owned?

However, there's a Homepath property near me that looks interesting but getting that close to big government is a little intimidating. 

Each deal/project is discussed, many of which state and local governments with a lot more money than Trump and his dad, failed miserably to deliver on time, or on budget.

There are a lot of good resources available and proving to your potential partner a serious focus and how you are preparing besides an eventual practical experience will show that even though you may lack the credible experience, you have all the "right stuff" to get there quickly and be a good partner for him too.

I am a 23 year old Civil Engineer currently working for the government.

In general, when you purchase a home in an association you are bound by all of the CC&Rs a.k.a governing documents, which would've included all the rules around rentals.