Do people recommend I continue to rent and take the money and invest out of state?

If everything continues to check out the plan would be to live in one side and rent out the other hopefully using an FHA loan.

I would like to continue my question: 1. 

@Melissa Harris, so you're asking if continuing to net $3k per year for your $4k outlay is better than netting a one-off profit of $80k for that same $4k outlay two years ago?

My wife and I have very stable, well paying jobs in the Washington DC metro area, but we've made the decision we want to take charge of our financial futures instead of continually trading time for dollars like our families do. 

However I believe there is an option to upgrade beyond the free service to access this feature. 

I have no affiliation to the following companies other than I have used, and continue to use their service.

Anything i should look at to determine if i should continue on with the buying process before calling out an inspector?

The property search feature where you can search for ownership by estimated equity % is pretty neat!  

. $5,500/yr for IRA)- Ability to access up to $50K of your retirement funds tax and penalties free prior retirement via participant loan feature- Greater protection from creditors- No need for a custodian + checkbook control- Exempt from UBIT on leveraged real estate - Tax-free investing with built-in Roth component - and more!