Unless they are an owner occupant, meaning they actually satisfy the requirements to be considered an occupant, they are not considered a "homeowner" for the purpose of Dodd.

I really want to make sure my end buyer is satisfied with the purchase.

My down side (do-nothing) analysis looks like (with rents raised to market):Market Rents: $1750, $1600 = $3350NOI: $3350 - $1622.05= $1727.95 -> $20,735 per yearExpense:Income -> 48.4% Cashflow: 3350 – (1622.05+1778.47) = -50.52 -> -25.26 per door.Not too great for cashflow if the existing conditions remain unchanged.

Also, there is no legal restriction on a lender collateralizing a property in another state, so my advice remains the same. 

I can't quite put this together in my head -- if as you say you're looking to rehab to the point where you'll reach a higher plateau of tenant clientele, then that sounds like a pretty big do-over, and tenants couldn't safely remain during construction -- how can the current tenants not have already been informed that on a given date they need to be gone?  

That would satisfy your mortgage guy, unfortunately the type of owner who would let their property get so run down is the same type of owner who you probably wouldn't want in charge of a roof repair. 

I would like to use my VA Home Loan to purchase a 4 unit apartment and live in one unit for at least a couple years and use it as a home office, while renting out the remaining three units. 

I do have a investor friend who drove to Mexico for some dental work which I thought was the craziest thing you could do. ( little legal recourse I imagine) But he was satisfied. 

That is why when I find someone to invest with I put a lot of trust into that relationship because I satisfied myself they are worthy, have checked them out and had all my boxes checked. 

An egress window must satisfy four International Residential Code (IRC) criteria:• Minimum width of opening: 20 in.• Minimum height of opening: 24 in.• Minimum net clear opening: 5.7 sq. ft. (5.0 sq. ft. for ground floor).• Maximum sill height above floor: 44 inThe physically smallest windows (w/r to rough opening) you can use would be either a casement window (with egress hardware) or a tilt-n-turn style window (common in Europe).