Ask the township for their 3-5 year development plan...

Right now, I’m actively learning and planning to start my first projects this year.

I don’t plan on putting any % down right now at least.

This is who will approve or deny your plans when you apply for a permit.

@Bryan Zayac  In PA, there is a state document called the Municipal Planning Code MPC. 

This is a conventional loan where they also cover your PMI (private mortgage insurance).

As for the areas to target, my goal in getting our feet wet as real estate investors--and since we plan to be living in Sac--is to find a property we can live in while renting out one or more units to help cover our housing expenses, which we can then hold and continue to rent out when we move.

The 1% rule is best only used as a quick and dirty evaluation used to pick which property you plan on running additonal calculations on.

If you are not planning to live in the property, then you are not going to qualify for an FHA loan.

Quote from @Daniel Tanasa: Another option is to get a small cash out refinance from the house you plan on fixing up, if is in financeable condition, and use that to fix it up, while still cash flowing.