First: Can you commit to living there for at least two years?

She has a ton of units in Des Moines and still lives in the area so may be able to give you some advice on what might work there and what won't.

Usually living in it for a few years may be enough for it to cash flow positive when you move out.  

Find a partner, find co-workers/friends/relatives you wouldn’t mind living with, find a property you can buy for less than your current rent.

We all invest in real estate in order to make money, and keep in mind that someone who can only afford to live in a mobile home and seller-finance to buy the land is probably tight on funds. 

Starting to research Uruguay to invest and as a 3rd country to live in.  

I wasn’t prepared to lose so much of my savings as carrying cost basically I paid for the tenants to live there for 3 months + my own living expenses in that time.

The past tenant was a hoarder and the apartment has not been lived in or touched since 1999 (26 years)! 

Was it for a place to live for work before they found a permanent location or was it used for someone wanting to stay in the area as a 2nd home for the winter months?

I do recommend on higher end properties adding TV channels and Spectrum has a live TV stream app (no more boxes, I also imagine other cable providers so as well).