How did you access the phone number for the owners of the homes you targeted?

Wow...I wish here in Cook County (Chicago) our court system would be this accessible where you could simply call into the clerk to say you were late or fax in personal requests to the judge.Here, defendants get 30 days to vacate a default judgement [almost] without question.

Others just want to create stable monthly income or want to build a portfolio in a more accessible market than the one they live in, but aren't interested in getting their hands dirty in the day-to-day.

well I am sure there are going to a lot of answers depending on what you are looking to do but one starting point is paying for access to the mls.

Are there any suggestions for accessing a Property Management contract to use between my neighbor and myself?

An AC person might be able to find the leak, if the lines are accessible. 

I know they have restrictions for selling or renting it out since the whole idea is to get a low income person a place to live.

You should have access to their data base.

But, I'm not sure how Home Possible (which is a Freddie Mac program) may or may not limit your access to an FHA loan.

One issue will be if you are buying a townhome or condo in those areas, most are legally structured as condo's and FHA has restrictions on condos will limit the developments you can purchase into the ones they have already approved.