Yes section 8 can be harder to scale because the government has many requirements for units and there are tenants who don't pay sometimes. 

Government would have by now after 100+ years passing law to stop building homes.  

And also look into first time buyer programs that offer down payment assistance and other low money down programs in your area.

I just would hate to get all my tenants on one program and decide to switch later.

I found that there were two ladies at the pro desk that were dialed in and knew the program inside and out.

Their degree programs are self-pace which means you finish your degree depending how much you commit to it.

If I might throw on my optimism hat though, once they fully move all of the SEAL teams down to the new Naval Coastal Campus from Coronado, the government's attention to the issue *ought* to be higher than ever considering that these guys are out in the water a lot and when you have a state-of-the-art training facility for our elite forces being influenced by polluted water, this becomes a national security issue.  

Coverage will vary by local, city, county, state governments, but some examples might include requiring sprinklers, upgrade electrical wiring (older homes can have aluminum wiring which isn't used often anymore at least in CA), electrical panel upgrades, insulation / energy value requirements, different fire place construction

My goal is to slowly grow a portfolio at 1 to 2 per year until I have 15-20 properties by the time I retire from the government at 50 years old.

https://www.va.gov/osdbu/programs/