I’m active duty Air Force and ran into the same issue at my last base.

I have cash on hand and no issues paying 25% down. 

Hi Michael,It is great that you are doing this together, I read some great tips on here, something I wanted to add:I have been checking a lot of 2-4 units, in the past it was not easy to find them in good areas.During COVID, a lot of investors decided to build these types of units which is great, but not all builders are great, I had a client, he purchased 2 duplexes in the same area, we had some pricy maintenance issues, one was with the plumbing.

The main issue that would scare away buyers is that there is a lot of debris (couches, household contents, ect.) that have been basically thrown in a pile in the front of the house.

FHA is tough on a few things like "Chipped paint" any signs of chipped paint will stop financing and need to be addressed (Painted), Loose or missing hand railings, Water damage, Mold, Termites, Outdated electrical or any wiring that is exposed.FHA will also stop you dead in your tracks if the appraisal shows anything that is considered a "hazard or safety issue" and must be fixed.

https://www.car.org/-/media/CAR/Documents/Transaction-Center/PDF/QUICK-GUIDES/Quick-Guide--Cannabis-Marijuana-Issues--Sale-of-Residential-Real-Property-revised-22822.pdf

@Dominick Tonnarini, The only issue with your plan is that you will have to pay a sizable tax on the sale of that property when you do sell. 

My family is already in construction however we can’t start doing anything until we have permits with the city.

They do require that a permit be acquired (super easy) and hotel tax get paid (a little more complex but there are ways to make it easy), but otherwise there are no regulations to speak of.  

Section 8 tenants will generally not tell you issues in the property and then tell everything to the inspector which gives you a short period of time to get a lot of work done or you will get abated and lose the rent for that portion.Section 8 tenants are MUCH harder to evict than normal tenants.Happy to talk more about this if you want.