Hello my name is Ernest KAKEU, I live in Midland.

We lived in a little apartment above the garage and rented out the main portion of the house. 

You'll need a contact who lives in Philadelphia for a rental license now to put down their contact info for the city.

I guess I could do some work-arounds -- maybe reserve one unit in the first purchase for use as an AirBnb, and reserve my own time in it when needed - instead of claiming it as a primary.Are either of you (or anyone) familiar with a finance product/loan that will allow me to purchase under $150,000 (w/ strong credit) and do much of my own work and live-in a portion as a primary residence?  

You could bring less down and possibly have a lower interest rate since you will be living there.

Most people living in far north suburbs of DFW are not working downtown. 

Quote from @Vince Scipione: Yes, they are a popular choice where I live and work, however with the ever fluctuating cost of oil heat, many people have swapped over their boilers/furnaces to what is called a "Propane Gun" essentially it is a device that is affixed to the front of the furnace/boiler that injects the propane and ignites it.

Quote from @Kyle Barnhart: I live near Phoenix and looking to invest locally.

I live in Charlotte and would prefer a multi-family investment property that is within a 3-4 hour drive so I'm considering areas that include: Charlotte, Raleigh / Research Triangle, Charleston, and Atlanta.

Unfortunately, over the 11 months he has lived there, he has only managed to pay the rent on time once.