At this stage, the main thing we need is for me to get back into the workforce and get some money coming in, in order to achieve that dream.With that in mind, my immediate goal is to gain employment in the field of property management, as opposed to wasting my time working in another field that is not associated with real estate.

Thus, I have worked 2 jobs (1  is self employment) for 7 years to fund purchasing a few single family homes locally. 20k is not enough to purchase IMO, that should be your savings AFTER your purchase.

For house flipping, consider an LLC taxed as an S-Corp to reduce self-employment taxes by taking a reasonable salary and the rest as distributions.

But, they will be in challenging parts of town where realistically you do not want to own property and your long-run returns will under-perform.I'd encourage you to find a balance of sub-market growth, nearby employment, strong income, and only then a good rent-to-value ratio. 

When they do HML on OO, they want very low risk.  

The worst PM imitation I ever had the misfortune of employing

Make sure you talk to a Banker or Loan officer that is well versed in both SE (Self Employed) income and also Non/QM programs.One tip I will give you as a Banker is open up a "Business Checking account" and for the next 12 months pay "Everything" out of that account. 

Employment Growth Outpacing Housing SupplyBuffalo leads the nation in the ratio of new jobs to new homes permitted.

Lexington is a weird market with low occupancy, 90-92%, and there aren't many assets in the market.

The garnishment has to be filled in county clerks office and the paperwork is served to the ex-tenant place of employment.