I am putting in a link to something that may be help, a cost of living comparison calculator (https://www.bankrate.com/real-estate/cost-of-living-calculat...). 

I found an area I felt comfortable living in and I bought a house with an FHA loan.

Both my aunt and my mother’s husband have expressed their willingness to remove their names from the title, granting sole ownership to my mother.My mother is interested in transferring ownership of the property to me and allowing me to live there.

I work in Potomac, MD, and would like to buy a condo or apt that I can easily commute and live in, and then eventually rent out, and then buy another. 

We plan on living in the house and doing most of the fixes and renovations ourselves.

If it pays for itself, it provides you with a "free" place to live during the off-season.

Even better if you buy 2-4 units, live in one and rent the rest - then repeat every 12 months.

I am considering living in one of the units myself.

I use pricelabs on all my listings and have really enjoyed it. 

Perhaps if your partner was a general contractor or handyman type there may be some merit there to reduce costs / increase profitability.If your partner enjoys deal sourcing, a better move might be for him to become an agent - so he could legally collect commissions from finding deals and managing properties for multiple people.