The stipulations for FHA are extremely lax compared to conventional loans.  

Not sure if those stipulations are still in place, but they were 'show stoppers' when I looked into it...

Another option would be letting a reliable handyman/ contractor live there rent free with the stipulation that certain things be fixed up( this option would require expectations to be written down between both parties, and figuring out who is paying for materials.Another option that comes to mind is to owner finance the land for say 1k down with payments of 300?

With retail lease properties which kind of lease should an investor/landlord seek if they want minimum responsibility-NNN, Single Tenant, Ground Lease-what kind of clauses or stipulation should be in the landlord tenant agreement when an investor shops for such an investment?

Sure the lender might stipulate that this sort of restriction must be put in place on the short sale or else, but they don't have that same level of control as in REO.

Needless to say, the property isn't rented yet and they will NOT be getting any business from me in the future.However, I now have a contract with these people and it stipulates that I may be charged a $750 fee to break the contract.

I have heard of stipulations requiring staying in the home for about 2 years (been there 2.5 years) and that some lenders will use 75% of the income. 

The clause stipulates that there has to be a substantial consideration...when you put down an emd then you are giving substantial consideration.

When Binghamton police accompanied my manager to get him out, squatter claimed to have been living there with tenant for 5 weeks, which police sited as more than the stipulated 2 week period in which case a person (our case, a squatter) must be evicted legally.Wondering if my fellow Binghamton investors can verify this to be true, or have any advice?

I saw that new rules stipulate you must be 100 miles from your original home to collect rental income when moving into an FHA property.