Gas or electric would be a much better option, safety wise, from a house fire standpoint, CO danger, or danger to children or pets from the open flames. 

I am currently seeking a lending partner that offers 100% or near 100% financing options for new construction properties in the Philadelphia region.

House hacking is probably your best option.

With a family and kids the best house hack is a house and cottage or duplex option.

The agent turned down a seller financing option - although it was not ran by the seller - because the agent said the seller is so done with the property that she wants nothing to do with it at all.

On public websites, I see some options to acquire a duplex in central Los Angeles under $550K which would require at least another $50K of work if I do not outsource most of the labor.

I see 3-5 as a fad.Fractional ownership - way to much overhead for these to be profitable. think "timeshare".STR in non traditional markets - running a STR is a business and real estate, boils down to location location location - who would want to go to a conference and stay in a STR vs. the hotel where the conference is at, most businesses pay for this I do not see why.Mixed use with green - this has been going on for years- it will continue but it is also more expensive to build - which means higher costs to use.Not trying to be debbie downer, I have seen these attempted to be done in the past and they really have not been successful.I do really like the BTR model though as I continue to see that as a very good option in the future. 

Virtually staging it could be a good inexpensive option. 

Utah County has the best new construction options in the state when it comes to real estate investing.I own properties in Utah, Salt Lake, Wasatch, Sanpete, Millard, and Sevier counties.

This is typically HIGHER than option one.