We soon learned the area was starting to decline demographically, more and more low income applicants that couldn‘t qualify.

But as you wait to deploy that capital, the return on equity (ROE) is very low.

I personally took the classes to get a license and was planning on actually completing my license, (though never did because I moved to CA), in MA for a few reasons. 1) The cost was low, I think I only paid about $400 for the course.2) The time commitment was low, you only need to complete 40 hours of instruction.3) If I wanted to get a license, I could do so and hang it with a broker simply to help myself with my own process of accessing the MLS and being more self sufficient.Having completed the course I can tell you that you will learn nuances to real estate that you didn't already know. 

Keith,Northern Nevada has been booming lately due to low cost of living (which has been steadily increasing), taxes and businesses coming to town.

Tried to sell but get low ball offers from 60-120K. 

I have seen when LTV's are at real low levels with a big down payment the underwriters tend to relax a little more.

as low as 5% down on 2-4 unit, lower mortgage insurance premium and no upfront insurance payment at closing, and it's a conventional loan so stronger offer and less red tape than the FHA. 

It is much easier to get a loan for a property you are going to live in, especially with low money down.

If you refi out of FHA, it allows you to use the low down payment option again for another purchase.If there is a college student market there, you can generally make more than normal leases by renting rooms individually.

I would say your cost estimate is way off, I haven't heard of anyone doing a project like that for $100k (granted I don't know the details) because construction on small projects is running $325 (at the EXTREME low end) and up - some other commenters have mentioned this as well.