Any new employers in the area? 

And for sure just like wholesaling there is an allure that real estate sales is some huge money maker.. well it can be for some but as stated above its not for most.. 

At the time I was legal counsel at REIT  as my primary employment and the SFH's where viewed as a passive investment.

I'm in a situation where i'm newly self employed (1.5 years) so dont have enough tax records to qualify for FHA lending. 

But, due to being self-employed, it is extremely difficult to get accepted for any kind of FHA loan.

Others employ a BRRRR method or do wholesale deals/flips to have cash to invest long term. 

Does not fly.And if you claim that you only spend 20 hours a week for your W2 job, an IRS auditor will request a confirmation from your employer.

Do any of you currently employ water submetering in your Pittsburgh properties and can recommend a product and/or plumber?

Self employed here, average $3k for prep and pay 37% effective tax rate.

Then the debts are "Omitted".This is usually more beneficial for a person who receives W2 income from an employer and wants to exclude their W2 income from being hit by the credit cards, automobiles or mortgages being paid out of their business checking account.There are also ways to gross up some of the income but some lenders have overlays and hit you with things rather than allowing add backs.