Quote from @Chris Seveney: Personally if you have one mortgage already that is negative cashflow I would be hesitant to buy rright now, especially in canada where from reports their housing situation for pricing is far worse than the US on affordability and just like US, people think prices can only go in one direction but reality is they are moving in the opposite direction."

I personally believe that landlords can be great change agents in a community.  

Second would be connecting with RE folks in your local market either in person or here on BP.I think house hacking in McDonough is a great place to start.

House hacking is how I personally got started with real estate investing and how I help the majority of my clients get their foot in the door.

Then go and get a good umbrella policy personally. 

@Tracy ScottScour the HOA docs for wording involving occupancy such as, "not more than three (3) persons not related by blood or marriage living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit."

Really making sure that you stay on top of that person (contractor, you, architect) on the ball by following up with the city to get that permits done in a timely fashion. 

(I've written about the topic on the forums many times).I also have personal experience rehabbing properties with structural issues (unfortunately).I've bought and rehabbed properties in almost every condition imaginable, but I've never knowingly bought a property with significant structural issues--that's my one deal-breaker.

But if you have one person who wants high end and new all the time and another who is fine with status quo, it is going to lead to problems.

I understand this may not be enough data to go off of, however I am wondering is it the VA who needs more training or do I need to call the list personally to see if the results vary?