It was too small for the whole crew and she had health issues, so the family decided to sell in order to purchase a larger home.

It was too small for the whole crew and she had health issues, so they needed a larger home.

Trying to pinpoint a market that would bring cash flow that I can afford.

Along the way to pay for our health insurance (partner and self) which had crept up to $1400 a month pre-Obamacare I took on a W-2.

My biggest worry would be the HOA fees going up once the suburb is complete right now they are low or none existent.I feel like everything just outside Asheville is doing well because it’s alittle more affordable.

Waiting & saving more for down payment leaves me stuck renting my personal residence and potentially can't keep pace with market pricesI'm considering putting my rental purchase on hold and buying a personal residence first to secure my financial health but this still leaves me at square 1 with my investing journey.

I have been a Realtor for about 4/5 years now and have a decent amount of liquidity saved up (just under $100k) to be invested into my first rental property.To be honest, I have been considering buying Section8/Affordable housing properties due to their "guaranteed" rent/tenant stability. 

I understand that they can be dangerous from the perspective of historically they were predatory and people purchased properties that they couldn't afford, getting hit hard with the intro interest-only period of 5/7/10 years expire... but I see it as a flexibility option.

You may need to focus on a less expensive single family of maybe a duplex in an affordable market but a decent 4 plex will be out of your price range.

Have you checked with a good mortgage broker to double-check on your affordability?