Take notes from a few people who tell you how to bake a cake, go eat some cake and get your own ideas.  

You would need to find a property manager to care for the investment until you return, which will eat into the profits.

With a small portfolio, it will eat away at all your cashflow.

Put the profit towards a new Primary residence and ~$50k towards a rental property.2) Rent it out and eat the cash flow loss, hoping rents increase.

Also Since you plan to live there for 3-5 years, it’s easier to manage and maintain, giving you time to learn the ropes of real estate.That said, be mindful of high HOA fees, as they can eat into your margins and affect future cash flow.

I am eating it out of pocket, and going to try to push it back on FEMA and any association that can work with me on it. 

@Ben ClingerHi Ben, I just noticed your post.Toledo just clarified their inspection criteria for section 8 houses and decided they wanted their cake and to eat it too...we don't have to have an interior inspection (since LMHA inspects that during their inspection), but we DO have to pay for a Lead Inspector contractor to visually inspect the exterior of the house and of course we DO have to pay the $45 fee (which is of course what this is all about).LMHA of course inspects the outside of houses along with the inside so the whole lead inspection is redundant.

Their living conditions are unsanitary and could invite rodents, bugs, or just unhealthy living conditions in general.

They may just agree to cover them, especially if Landlord offers to eat the appliance costs if they cover the utilities.If that doesn't work and it is an issue for the tenants, I wouldn't do it.

This is your seed, when you plant seed you expect a return, but if you eat the seed (blow your money), you have no seed to invest, (no return).