As a result any “offering” must either be a registered securities offering, or qualify for an exemption from the required registration.

Unfortunately, she will not qualify for energy assistance.

Would I still be able to qualify for this?

Yes, that's the plan and I have bankers lined up to invest through the CDFI but, per the guidelines, I need a track record as a fund first to qualify (the bankers also want to be second round or later).

Given your husband's expertise in marketing, you probably have the skills to grow a business. 

Credit score shouldn't be the primary driver of tenant approval, because if they could qualify for a mortgage they probably wouldn't be renters.

To determine price range, the first step is always figuring our how much you are pre-approved for; and that can vary significantly when you are looking at multi-unit properties because of the additional variable of rental income that can be included in qualifying.

If you need to qualify why you're doing something, you probably need to disqualify yourself.

If you offer more $ for the property than the all cash offers AND you appear to the seller to be highly qualified in the method you are using for sourcing the payment, at some point your offer will be more appealing than the all cash offers.I don't understand why you would consider a 1031 for another property in two years. 

You have a skillset that could be extremely useful for quick fixes and landlord issues and from there you can bridge relationships and partnerships to enhance your knowledge of real estate investing and couple your skills.