An acquaintance approached me because she knew I was getting into the business.

I have personally had a few investors that approached me that I could not assist.

Is there anyone who has taken the FHA approach?

I think what people are referring to when they say to look for off-market properties is to get a deal by approaching the seller directly. 

what approach should i be taking ?

You and I just live in a place where getting that education is financially riskier than elsewhere.Maybe I'd take a different approach if I were 50 and seeing retirement on the horizon.  

I've been approached twice by organizations that rent houses for veterans (disabled and not) to share. 

If you want to buy one of those, you have to approach the owner directly and then offer him/her a deal that'll AT MINIMUM pay off their mortgage & any other related fees from getting behind...sometimes you get lucky with those offers, sometimes you don't.

When I first approached the attorney that I close my wholesale deals with now, he admittedly explained to me that his response in getting back to me was delayed as a result of him having to contact his title company to see if wholesaling was legal.  

Make sure you are certain of the expenses you are responsible for if not paid directly by the tenants to the service providers - you will need to have an appropriate allocation approach and lease provisions to manage that.