The third party leasing companies are able to leverage economies of scale/ bulk buying power on equipment / vertical integration to drive costs down such that they can install solar cheaply enough that they will be making money on the system very quickly if not immediately (by selling the tax credits to banks/investors/tax equity funds and by selling energy back to the grid at a premium) .

That's definitely going to be a deciding factor if we go ahead with the idea.

I live in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia and when I am driving to and from work I see lots of bandit signs and my heart just flutters because I know that I need to get into the game.

Not to mention probalby an extra $500/month or more in cash FLOW, which is my driving force. 

As far as some general criteria/thoughts:- My workplace is in the Cobb/Vinings area and I would ideally like to be a < 30 min drive to work (though I don't mind if its up to 1 hour away since that is my current commute)- I'm interested in using a FHA loan to put ~5% of a down payment (3.5% down pmt + 1.75% upfront mortgage insurance premium)- My target all-in purchase price range is between 200k - 400k - I would prefer to live in a 'A' or 'B' class property that I could rent another unit to a young or established professional/college or grad student- Just from discussion with my friends, a lot of them seem to dig living in areas like Midtown, Buckhead, Virginia Highlands, Brookhaven, Lindbergh.. how feasible would it be for me to househack in any of those areas and expect to generate a decent return in the future once I move out and rent out my unit?

We teach a first-time homebuyers' class here in Denver, and we tell attendees that experience is the biggest factor I'd look for. 

There is a lot of suburban growth away from the casinos.Plus, the strip is still the most significant concentration of consistent adult stupidity/debauchery, etc in America, a close second would be Bourbon Street, followed by maybe Miami Beach Ocean Drive.

I just changed jobs with a huge pay cut (commute from 1 hour driving to walking 3 blocks - hooray!)

All tenants are month to month, so raising the rents is a bit easier and then lock in 1 year leases.There are some bonus opportunities i.e. spreading water bills to tenants as well as airbnb opportunities in 2 of the units as it is on the water, but we are not factoring that in right now.My questions:We have the seller financing option, and the ability to do private for the 30% down second at 8-10% and 2 points.

Are you wanting to fix up a property and do you know exactly what that price range offers and the risk factors with that?