I am looking for investors in the Federal Way to Dupont region. 

@Sheena Varghese it is not legal to trade rent for work in this manner because he is not paying federal taxes.

I also want to know where I can find information about first time home buyer grants, I've tried looking on government sites but came up with nothing.

DTI is different depending on the loan type, governing body, and bank.  

I'm searching for a program, possibly a government backed/grant program that would loan money to purchase and rehab a property with a portion of debt forgiveness in order to make it profitable for the rehabber yet keep the purchase price low enough to bring in end buyers in a neighborhood that is prime for growth but needs a little help.

The party wall agreement would govern modifications to shared parts of the structure.  

Here is some background information: I purchased my first property in 2010, a three-level townhouse in Sterling VA (Northern Virginia, so pretty hot real estate market), close to a community college, plus there are quite a few government contractors and IT companies in the area.

This is a federal requirement.  

On another note, if you are looking to have access to some of the retirement funds without having to pay taxes, you could open a solo 401k plan, which can be directly invested in real estate, and then you can borrow some of the solo 401k funds.Following are the similarities and differences between the solo 401k and the self-directed IRA.The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k Similarities Both were created by congress for individuals to save for retirement;Both may be invested in alternative investments such as real estate, precious metals tax liens, promissory notes, private company shares, and stocks and mutual funds, to name a few;Both allow for Roth contributions;Both are subject to prohibited transaction rules;Both are subject to federal taxes at time of distribution;Both allow for checkbook control for placing alternative investments;Both may be invested in annuities;Both are protected from creditors;Both allow for nondeductible contributions;Both are prohibited from investing in assets listed under I.R.C. 408(m); andNeither may be invested in your own business.  

Many state governments have their own web site.