How would a lender look at it different than an apartment ?

It is much easier to do so on a primary residence than an investment property.

I haven't really thought of any other way other than an FHA loan house hack but I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on what else would be a good idea to do?

I would note that the list of things that you "could" do before placing an offer on a property is exhaustive. 

TY Have to stay within the boundaries of your contract, if seller elects to terminate because you have exhausted the allotted time and does not want to extend, you do risk termination, simply paying cash and then refi will be simple, you can also HELOC it and not pay any fees later : - you have options it sounds like

But this seems more a labor of love than an investment for you.

My friend was asking me my thoughts on rent to own in Manchester, NH since she has a 560 credit score on its way up and is looking to get her and her daughter into a place that has more potential than an apartment.

@Brian Garrett The main reason is that it's really exhausting, and relies so heavily on my step dad to pull those types of numbers. 

A C class multifamily will have a different cap rate than an A class office complex in the same sub-market. 

I would basically exhaust ever other avenue of info instead of lining some guru's pockets.