Everything in my life has changed over the last five years due to the diagnosis and treatment of a chronic illness.

You will have a chance to talk to people who have various strategies and you can start to figure out what will fit your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.

Again, that is so weak an excuse I'd run it past the TX REA and prove me wrong since I'm in OR. 

If the borrower is weak on paper but states they can pay the mortgage, is this OK because of the seller not having to prove the ability to pay?

While obviously much more forgiving than any other material when frozen the weak point then becomes the fixtures themselves, or, in the case of anything with hot water baseboard, the baseboards are always still copper and will split quickly once they freeze. 

I have some cash (enough for a down payment), however my income statements are very weak, which worries me for getting a loan.

People get into trouble using short term debt on NNN and overpaying for the income stream with weak tenants that are not properly underwritten for risk in sub par locations.That is generally when buyers run into trouble.    

However, with a weak background in this area, it seems unwise to rush forward and do something that I know little about.

Domestic asset protection trusts are yet to be fully tested in court but are likely to suffer from the same weaknesses as foreign trusts.

Federal and state will be cracking down on a per zip code basis apartments that have foundation issues or weak due to new seismic code.