The question I have is when I bought the home I only lived in it for 1 1/2 to 2 years before I got permanently stationed somewhere else, during these last 8 years I have rented it out and have not lived in it, will I have to pay capital gains tax seeing how I didn’t live in for the last 2 out of 5 years or am I protected because I had official orders and had no choice?

If you pick option 1 you'll consume some of the equity of the condo just to sell it (realtors fees and closing costs), and then you'll consume the rest paying down debt. 

Policies that only hurt the rest of us.

10K downpayment of my own cash and then used a hard money lender to finance the rest of the purchase price and 100% of the rehab.

The rest are all in the 2005 - 2012 so newer homes. 

After the purchase of the book, look at parking the rest into a money market or CD.

Seller is the only child, and lives in a far away state (the mom, a widow, is at a rest home not far from the properties I want to buy).

I'm partial to Central Florida for its economic growth, higher elevation, and insulation from hurricanes relative to the rest of the state.

One tip - make sure you have all the terms of the loan in writing, even if it's not officially notarized or attorney drawn up paperwork.

For each sale you must pay down a % of the loan and get the rest in cash.