The lots have large cottonwood trees, which means potential tree root issues and he had one line already snaked because of that.

My wife is from here and her family has roots in this area (My in-laws are 4th gen of Sweetlands Candies and Coffee, for you locals).

I truly wish you the best and will root for you on this deal/strategy, but it's not a route I would recommend.Incidentally, you do have the advantages of (A) very very low primary residence mortgage rates and (B) low down payment requirements. 

Maybe there is a simple root cause for you.

If you decide to go the seller financing root, please consult with a real estate attorney who has experience with seller financing prior to making an offer. 

In other words, let’s not find the root cause as to why tenants stop paying rent; instead we’ll punish landlords who for some reason only want to accept tenants who have a history of paying their rent....Anyone else writing a letter or planning to attend the mayor’s forum on this issue?

New roof, new flooring, new counters, new ac, general contractor work, concrete removal, sewage line replacement (inherited pipe was backlogged and broken by roots) etc. 

Bought the home to be my forever home because I have strong roots here and my family is already.

If you're finding cracking on the inside then you probably have a house with issues, if not then it's likely just the veneer or brick ledge.Also to note, the home inspector typically is not able to help you determine the root causes of these types of issues.

That's totally fair and that is my general consensus as well from my information gathering -- get out of King County if possible... unfortunately rooted there however due to work, family and whatnot, which is why house hacking is probably in my future -- just enough to break even or so is the hope (maybe even go with subsidized/lowered cost of living, etc.)