It's a fantastic way to grow your portfolio while deferring taxes, but it requires careful planning and adherence to IRS rules. 

(I also would like a loan that doesn’t require a high down payment). 

@Ayyoub Reza in Michigan, if a lease is at least 12 months in length, you can charge tenants for maintenance and if not a health & safety issue, require them to fix it.Why would you have a lease end during the Oct-Feb timeframe, when it's the slowest time of the year for real estate sales & rentals?

if this is the case and if you are  able to  handle all the behind the scenes  needs/ requirements   ( or can hire someone that can ) - go for the  change .   

A 203k is a renovation loan which may be what you intend, but if you are going to remain active in the military, you won't be home enough to supervise an FHA 203k renovation which requires 4-8 inspections just on the FHA side and quarterly draws.

We require the tenants to prove a landlord liability policy for $100k.

That depends on deal to deal since the condition of each property and requirements of each seller will be different. 

To double your money in ten years you would be around 8% returns required.

There are financing options for self-employed borrowers in these sorts of situations, but they require a higher down payment than FHA.

Here are some tips to help you get started:Real estate requires a strong network.