Many people have done a live-in flip, but you should seriously consider your lifestyle situation, for instance, if you are married with small children.

We are obviously not looking to make money off of him but plan to keep the unit and rent it out in the future when all of our children are done with school. 

Increased maintenance, decreased appreciation, and anyone with children (depending on the class of property that you target) is probably going to have to go private schools (increased expenses).As far as the sewer problems, only septic folks will avoid it, so it will affect expenses across the city equally.I would have to defer to @Zach Zimmer on the other two areas (Congrats on the new job sir).

Looks like you are interested in all of the Greater Philadelphia Real Estate Market.Some things to consider in the Suburbs;* Can you afford the acquisition prices(Entry Point compared to Philadelphia County both on a Flip or Conventional Purchase* Taxes reflect differently in the burbs based on location (Transportation) and education provided for children and also college or university impact to that immediate area.Depending whether you are considering cash flow or flipping you need to understand your financial resume capability to compliment your market capabilityLet me know if you have any questions.Regards,Joe Scorese

We have no children.

If you've got a 4/3 house where the typical end buyer is a family with children/teens, you should talk to an agent about the feedback they've gotten on upstairs laundry in your area.

Random adult children just came out of the wood work like alligators pouncing on some prey in the lake after the mom died last week. ...

I have over 10 years of experience making mistakes, developing solutions, and implementing preventative measures to ensure these risks are minimized.The more experience I gain, the more I see that one of the most essential components of real estate investing is risk management, but also property management, people management, market research, investment analysis are also essential (not in order of priority).Some specifics:My tenants (customers) are new families with 1-3 children. 

., all adult applicants plus their minor children) has enough income, accept the group.

If you rent to section 8 tenants with young children (I can't remember the maximum age) you are not allowed to have any peeling or chipping paint.